Elena Petrova
by poisonesse
Summary: Everyone, including the golden girl herself, thinks Elena is human. They're all wrong. She's an Original, and sister to the two oldest vampires alive- bewitched to forget it by those very brothers. What will happen when a spell is cast and Elena remembers her real life? Set sometime in season 2.
1. Awakening

**Summary: Elena's life, as she knows it, is a lie. She's always thought she was human- she's not. She was enchanted and compelled to believe so by her brothers- who just so happen to be Klaus and Elijah, the oldest Originals in the world. But why was she compelled in the first place, and how will everyone react to seeing the _real _Elena when she is compelled to remember?  
>Okay, this is just an idea that bounced into my head and <em>would not go away. At all. <em>Until I wrote it down. So I did, and here it is! In this story the sacrifice hasn't happened and Originals can compel other Originals. Okay, here it is!  
>Enjoy!<strong>

**Chapter 1. **

**Elena's POV. **

I groaned as my eyes fluttered open slowly. Whoa, what had happened? Every bone in my body ached as I struggled to sit up.

'Elena.' the voice rang clear in the air and I blinked once to clear my vision before looking around, searching for the source of the mesmerising voice. And when I found him, I felt a sense of reassurance from just the sight of him. Like I knew him... but I didn't. I didn't know hew was. So why did he seem so familiar?

'Who are you?' I asked groggily, and glanced around once more and discovered that we were in the forest near Wickery Bridge. But then I noticed something that made me gasp in horror.

Lined up, tied up in ropes I could only assume were soaked in vervain, were my friends. My family and my friends. Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy, Jenna and Alaric. Unconscious- or, at least, I really hoped they were just unconscious.

'Do not worry about them, sorella.' the man said, and my gaze snapped once more to his. But for some reason, I still felt safe with him. After he (presumably) did that to my friends? And sorella... didn't that mean _sister _in Italian? (Thank you, Italian classes). What was that about?

'What did you do to them?' I demanded, and my voice came out shakier than I wanted it to. Being honest, it disturbed me to see vampires so wounded- they were, after all, supposed to be the ultimate body repairing machines.

'I brought them here so you would have reason to stay.' he said calmly.

_He _had ruffled blonde hair sitting atop his handsome, pale head. His eyes were a vivid blue and his mouth was turned up in a what seemed to be consistant smirk. He was a vampire; of that, I was positive.

I briefly remembered being sat in the boarding house with Stefan, and... and we were arguing. He was saying that I didn't understand how much I needed to be protected, and I was telling him that I would rather give myself up than let people I love die for me, and then... nothing. Blackness overtook me.

'Why am I here?' I asked, growing more worried by the second.

He frowned. 'You still don't recognise me.'

'Should I?' I questioned.

He sighed. 'My name is Klaus. You are Elena Gilbert, I know.' he said, and once more, I gasped.

'Klaus.' I cried, willing myself to move away.

'Hear me out.' he ordered, lifting a hand, and I quieted instantly. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement from Stefan, Damon and Caroline- they were waking up. My insides started to dance with happiness at the fact that they were, in fact, alive (Well, as alive as vampires could be) and waking up.

'You are not who you think you are. You're not even human.' he smirked. 'And you're certainly not 17 years old.'

I frowned. 'What are you talking about? Of... of course I'm 17 years old. I've lived here all my life...' I trailed off. The words felt wrong to say.

'You know, don't you?'

'How is it possible?' I asked, my voice nothing more than a shaky whisper.

'You are my sister. I am your brother, and so is Elijah. We compelled you to believe you were human- we did it for your protection, Elena. You're an Original vampire. A witch then cast a spell on you so you _became _human, but the spell only lasts for a year before it starts to kill you. It's been cast upon you for a year now, Elena. It's time to remove the spell.' he explained.

'No!' I cried, and glanced desperately at my friends to see Damon, Stefan and Caroline already awake, thanks to the magic of vampire healing process.

'What the hell?' Damon growled, already struggling against the vervain-soaked roped.

'No...' I repeated, more softly.

'Greta.' Klaus said firmly, and a girl with mocha-coloured skin and a broad, smug smile stepped out into view, muttering words that sounded like they were in a different language that didn't belong to anyone on this earth.

And suddenly I felt a sharp, searing pain in my head. It felt like I was going to pass out, like the world was crashing down on me... but surprisingly, my vision cleared. It cleared so much. I could suddenly see new things that I didn't ever think I would be able to see.

Then my ears seemed to open up and, despite the horrible pain, I could hear for what seemed like miles.

'Is it working?' I heard Klaus ask the witch in a murmur.

'It's working.' she breathed, before resuming in chanting the verse of the spell. I heard Stefan and Damon calling my name, and I heard Caroline wailing at the still-new pain of vervain soaking into her vampire skin.

Then the memories came flooding into my head, and I had to clutch my face to stop myself screaming out. The pain only increased with each memory.

And soon enough, finally, it was over.

And I remembered everything. It was like I was a new person- but not really.

'Klaus.' I smirked, slowly getting up. The pain was gone, replaced by an aching hunger. I had, after all, not enjoyed the thrill and joys of a hunt for... what was it, a year? Yes, I had fooled myself into thinking I could enjoy the life of a silly mortal for just about a year now.

And it was time to resume my life as Elena Petrova- older sister to Klaus and Elijah, the second most feared Original in the world.

**Damon's POV. **

I watched in astonishment as Elena transformed right before my eyes. Her painful cried eventually stopped, to my relief, but were replaced with a taunting, victorious smirk that I would have expected from Katherine- not the ever sweet Elena...

'Klaus.' she smirked, eyes glinting as she watched the Original's face break out into a grin.

'Sorella.' he greeted. I knew that word. It meant sister in Italian... but why the hell was Klaus speaking Italian to Elena? Was he even Italian? And why was Elena smirking like that? I felt confused, and I didn't like it. Not one bit.

Then her expression changed to one of icy fury. 'You let this happen.'

Klaus looked kind of scared. 'You have many enemies, Elena. It was for your safety.'

Elena growled and, to my horror, had him pinned to the ground in less than a second. I heard Caroline gasp beside me and Stefan's sharp intake of breath on my other side and, for the first time, noticed that my brother and Vampire Barbie were awake. None of the others were, though, and I wondered again why we were even tied up in the forest to begin with. Klaus and Elena were here, too, which meant it had to have something to do with the sacrifice... right?

But that did not explain why Elena seemed to be faster than even Klaus, and why Klaus was referring to her as his sister. I had heard mumbles of 'sister' and 'spell' when I was waking up, but to be honest, I was too busy trying to figure out why the hell I was painfully tied up in ropes soaked with vervain in a forest to take any notice of it.

I regretted that now.

'You compelled me, and had a witch convince me to be human!' my love spat in Klaus' face before Klaus switched the positions so Elena was pinned down underneath him. When he spoke, his voice contained warning.

'It had to be done. You should know that.'

To my surprise, Elena suddenly pushed Klaus off her and walked over to lean on a tree, frowning thoughtfully.

'I suppose so. I'm just confused.' she grinned, and the grin revealed canines that were sharper than they should have been. 'How exactly did you get me to survive as a human? I don't remember ever _feeding_.' she mused, and I once again found myself more than a little confused. Elena was human, wasn't she?

No, she clearly wasn't. But how?

Klaus smiled a sly smile. 'Those witches can do extraordinary things.' he said, as if it were an explanation, which apparently it was. Elena nodded in understanding. I decided to make my presence known, unlike Stefan and Caroline, who had so far only been watching in silence and awe.

I cleared my throat loudly, causing the both of them to snap their heads toward me. Had I been human, I would probably have cowered under each of their glares. But I didn't. I had at least that much self-control.

'Awake now, are we, Damon?' Elena taunted, smiling alluringly. I felt my expression glaze over as I stared at her in pure desire, but I quickly shook it off. Her expression changed to one of confusion before she snorted and looked away.

'Of course it wouldn't work on you.' she muttered softly, so low that I almost couldn't hear it. Almost.

'What doesn't work on me?' I asked, confused.

She grinned. 'Have you ever come across a female Original before, Damon? We can be... very alluring.' she winked. 'I myself have been the death of many men. And some women.' she added thoughtfully.

'Elena, what are you talking about? You're not a... you're not a female Original. You're human. You grew up here, damn it!' I yelled, my voice gradually growing louder with each word.

She didn't even wince. 'That's where you're wrong, Damon. I believed that little story, too, for about a year- until the spell wore off.'

'What spell?' I asked, exasperated and not afraid to show it.

Elena shrugged. 'The spell that made me appear human for a year.'

**A/N: Okay, so yes, I was bored when I wrote this. It's been attacking my conscious for weeks now, okay? I thought you might like it. The idea seemed pretty cool to me... I hope you agree. :)  
>I hope you liked it, and feel free to drop a pretty little review before you leave... but no flames. Really. I prefer constructive criticism, thank you very much.<br>Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to review! :D  
>AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	2. Hunger

**Chapter 2. **

**Elena's POV. **

I watched with delight as the confusion on Damon's face spread slowly into anger, then I looked over at Caroline and Stefan.

I pondered over what would happen to my relationships now. All of the feelings I had towards these people were, of course, real- I do feel love for my vampire boyfriend, Stefan. I do feel affectionate towards my witch best friend and my vampire best friend. But would they still feel the same, now that I was different?

Klaus seemed to guess my train of thought. 'You do not need them any more, Elena. You have your family now.'

I smirked. 'Speaking of family, brother... where is Elijah? I would like to see him.'

He sighed. 'He will be coming shortly. I assume he is feeding right now.'

I pursed my lips. 'Fine. Speaking of feeding, I think that's what I should do right now. I haven't had blood in, what, a year?' I grinned. 'I'm quite hungry.'

He chuckled. 'You have had some, actually. When you were sleeping I would sometimes slip in and...' he smirked. '_feed you._'

I grimaced. 'I do not want to be fed, I want to feed.'

'You're a vampire.' I heard Stefan mumble dejectedly- again. I sighed and looked at him.

'I thought we'd covered that.'

'How is it possible?' he asked, looking helpless. I struggled to keep my gaze cold and uncaring, but I managed.

'I'm asking myself the same question, and if I'm not getting an answer, neither are you. Although I assume the whole town was compelled to believe I lived here all my life.' I shrugged. 'If you'll excuse me- I need blood.' I announced, and, before another word could be uttered, I sped away to find a human to drink from.

**Klaus' POV. **

I sighed after my sister sped away without another word.

'I understand that you are confused. But it is best that you don't ask. Believe me- you won't even get an answer.' I advised the vampires, and glanced at the humans who were still unconscious, sighing again.

'Do me a favour, though. When they wake up, explain it. Then you might be able to figure out how to get out of here.' I smiled slyly.

'What do you mean- you have to let us go!' she blonde squeaked. She was clearly not used to the pain and helplessness of being captured against your will. Oh, well- she would get used to it soon enough.

'For a year now you have ruined my sister's human experience and endangered her just by being what you are.' I growled, no pity showing in my voice. 'Admittedly, you were only ever brought here so I could ensure she didn't try to get away while we were bringing back her memories and vampirism. Now that that's done... it's up to Elena. But don't assume she will show you kindness because you think she loves you. My sister is a fabulous actress.' I smirked, and turned to walk away. I wasn't sure where I would go next- no, I would not try and track down my sister. Her and I were particularly close; there was no chance she would try and run away.

In truth, she was faster and stronger than me- she is, after all, my older sister. But she had always been somewhat more _humane_ than me or Elijah, and therefore she often needed protection from those she is too afraid to kill.

But, hopefully, that little personality trait had changed now that she had experienced the life of a human and then changed back. It was said that this kind of spell changed people.

'Brother!' I heard a voice shout from somewhere close, but far away- Elijah. I smirked to myself and ran toward the voice, leaving Elena's little _friends _to wonder what the hell happened to their precious, sweet human.

'Brother.' I said, nodding my head as way of greeting. Elijah and I often pretended to hate each other, mainly to keep up appearances. But everyone must know the importance of family- it is why Elena, Elijah and I have kept up such a close bond for 1000 years.

'What is this one of your witches tells me of you breaking the spell on Elena?' he asked, voice and stance casual as ever.

I grinned. 'They do not lie.'

His eyes widened momentarily before he composed himself and raised an interested eyebrow. 'So where is she?'

'Hunting.' I answered.

He nodded. 'Can I see her when she returns?'

'Of course. Then we will be the three Originals for eternity again.' I grinned a sly grin.

He ignored my comment, though I did notice the small smile that flicked on and off his face before I could blink. 'And did you find Katerina?'

I shook my head, sighing. 'It seems she has been running for so long she has become an expert in it.'

'With our sister's help, though, we will surely find her soon enough.' Elijah mused. 'I am glad she is herself again.'

'I am, too. It seems our sister is our weakness.' I grinned widely.

He smirked. 'Though a being as powerful as she is cannot ever be considered a weakness.'

I chuckled. 'No, she cannot. Her _friends _are in the clearing still.'

He frowned. 'You left them there?'

'I figured Elena can do what she wants with them.' I shrugged. 'It is no matter to me. I do not care for them.'

'Let's hope she will make the right choice.' he sighed.

**Elena's POV. **

It felt amazing to stretch my strong arms, refreshing to once again use my powerful legs. I ran through the forest at vampire speed and returned to human speed when I reached the human eye- I wouldn't want to expose myself already, now, would I?

I went to Mystic Grill to find my meal. It was often filled with the perfect victims at this time of night- 11:30pm, to be exact- and I could do with a scotch to clear my head, too.

As I walked in, I realised what I was wearing- black jeans and a blood red tank top. Elena Gilbert's wardrobe was not particularly exciting. But it would have to do- I was growing more hungry by the second. I approached a half-drunk man who was alone at the bar. We Originals had many handy tricks at our whim, and mind-scanning was one. We could find out a person's whole background by just looking into their mind.

And with a quick mind scan, I knew no one would miss this man. So I could kill him without much guilt; that was good.

'Hi there.' I said to him with flirtation in my voice. He turned to look at me, and when he did, his eyes widened. I knew what he was seeing- a beauty far greater than anything human, a dark angel with an alluring smile. It was what they all saw; even some vampires saw it before I killed them.

'H-hello.' he stammered. I gestured to his empty glass.

'Want another?'

'Sure.' he smiled nervously and I waved to the bartender to get him another bourbon- on the house, naturally. I turned to the man again.

'Want to get out of here?'

He swallowed, forgetting about the drink- and everything else. 'O-okay.'

I led him outside and round the back of the grill, where he instantly encircled me in his arms and nuzzled his face in my neck. I grimaced at the human contact that I had not had since my memories returned and pushed his head back so I was staring into his eyes.

'You will not scream, or move.' I compelled him. Of course, he was confused, but the compulsion worked, for which I was glad. One year out of practice didn't affect my skills much at all.

'Wha-?' was all he managed to get out before I lunged, my fangs extending in an instant and sinking into the soft flesh of his neck as I drained the sweet red elixir that I so desperately needed to survive.

He was dead in two minutes.

I let his lifeless body drop limply to the floor and stepped back, licking my lips of any remaining traces of the man's blood. He had tasted good- just what I needed. I smirked to myself.

Time to return to my brothers.

**A/N: Aaaand here it is! :)  
>I hope you liked it.<br>And I am so happy with the reviews I have- 8 already! Thank you guys so much!  
>My first eight reviewers:<br>KrissieMusicGurl  
>QueenBee10<br>It' (I got the idea while I was in bed, and it just spread from there- my brain is crazy!)  
>000janedoe000 (In answer to your question- yes, I plan for it to be.)<br>Twilimpian  
>Anonymous<br>Cheertastic978  
>Pretty-Tweety<br>Thank you all so much! :)  
>I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, and thanks for reading.<br>AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	3. Feeling

**Chapter 3. **

**Elena's POV. **

I knew he wasn't in the clearing the moment I stepped into the forest. But I still heard my friends, and was curious as to why Klaus hadn't released them yet. That had been his intention, hadn't it?

Well, he had made no mention of it being so, but I assumed...

Damn. My idiotic brother. Did he not even _consider_ someone walking into the clearing and finding a bunch of beat-up people tied up?

I sighed and went to them.

'Why hasn't my foolish brother freed you yet?' I asked them wearily as I gently untied their ropes. The vervain barely even burned- I was used to the sensation by now, after 1000 years of ingesting it to build a nifty little resistance. All us Originals did the same- it was like instinct.

'He said it was up to you to decide our fate.' Caroline said tiredly, glaring at me. Clearly she was angry at _me _for this whole mess. I rolled my eyes at her childishness.

'And here is me deciding it. I suggest you all leave now, and take your humans with you.' I said coldly, stepping back once I untied the final captive- my brother. False brother, yes, but brother all the same. I had grown to love him as one. 'And be careful carrying them. Wouldn't want you to lose control, Blondie, would we?' I taunted. Okay, I couldn't help taunting them. It was a good way of showing that I _didn't care_.

She growled and lunged at me. I did nothing more than step out of the way and she barely stopped herself before she skidded to the ground face first. She turned back to me.

'What happened to you?'

'I remembered my real life, of course. This is _me_.' I said, wearily examining my, of course, perfect nails.

'Will you leave now?' Stefan asked me, a hint of sadness in his voice.

I nodded slowly. 'With my brothers, yes. I assume so, anyway. They do not like Mystic Falls- they would prefer to leave as soon as possible, I know it. Why?' I smirked. 'Will you miss me?'

'Well, of course I will.' he frowned. 'Won't you miss me?'

I shrugged and, in a millisecond, I was behind him, whispering in his ear. 'It depends what mood I'm in.'

He whirled, and I was once again in front of him, giggling at my owl immature game. I saw Damon roll his eyes and turned to him as Stefan and Caroline each picked up two humans.

'What about you?' I demanded, not even knowing why I cared. 'Will you miss me?'

He shrugged. 'Maybe I will, maybe I won't.'

I chuckled. 'You know, it's commonly assumed that people mean _yes _when they say that.'

He frowned, then smirked. 'Not me. I mean exactly that.'

I sighed. 'So quick to judge. If you knew me, the real me, I think you'd find out I'm a pretty decent person. Well, vampire.' I giggled and had him pinned to the floor in a second.

I wasn't sure of the reason for my sudden fascination with Damon, but I knew that it was there, and that was reason enough for me.

'Are you sure you won't miss me?' I murmured, pouting, my face inches from his.

He suddenly flipped us. I could easily have shoved him off, resisted, attacked him, anything like that, but... I didn't. I let him pin me down, breathing heavy.

'I didn't say I wouldn't.'

'Then give me a straight answer.' I smirked.

'Maybe.' he got up suddenly, picking up another three humans and joining Stefan and Caroline. They had already left, surprisingly. I was left alone... wait. No I wasn't. I heard them before I saw them, but I knew my brothers were slowly approaching- trying to sneak up on me. I smiled to myself. Apparently I wasn't the only one feeling childish today. I slowly turned round to see Klaus and Elijah grinning like fools at me.

'You really are back.' Elijah raised an eyebrow. 'Impressive taunting skills, like usual.'

'I'm impressed, sorella.' Klaus chuckled. He always called me sorella, for some reason. He always said it just sounded more poetic than sister. Italian was one of the many languages we were fluent in. In fact, I think we were fluent in all languages. Yet another perk to being an Original.

'As you should be, brothers. Elijah. It is wonderful to see you.' I smirked.

'And you. Finally. I was quite disturbed when I first saw you and you did not recognise me at all... then Klaus sent me a mental message explaining everything, so I played along.' he shrugged. 'I always have been quite the actor.'

'Quite.' I chuckled.

'And you let the others go.' Klaus grimaced, and my grin turned into a frown.

'Yes, I did. Do you have a problem with me doing that?' I challenged, and he laughed. I rolled my eyes at his sudden change of tone- of course he had no problem with that. Of course.

'No problem.' he told me and I suppressed a chuckle. He always did back down when there was s fight indicated between myself and him.

'So, little brothers.' I grinned. 'Where to now?'

**Stefan's POV. **

'Damon, we have to go back for her! We can't just leave her with him!' I shouted when we were in the boarding house.

'Oh, I don't know, little brother. She seemed perfectly capable of taking care of herself back there.' he spat bitterly and I frowned.

'You can't give up on her.' I told him.

'I didn't give up on her! She gave up on us. She's not even Elena any more, Stefan! She's an Original, and she's apparently Klaus and Elijah's sister!' he yelled.

I sighed. 'I feel so confused.'

'Stop arguing and focus already!' Caroline chided, and then smiled proudly. 'They're waking up, thanks to _my _blood.'

'Congrats, Blondie.' Damon said drily. 'What do you want, a medal?'

'No, just some kind of thanks.' she sniffed. 'Anyway, what do you think's going to happen to Elena now?'

'She said she'd probably leave.' Damon muttered, and he sounded utterly miserable. My brother hadn't even sounded this miserable after Katherine died.

'Damon, you have to let her go.' Caroline whispered. She was doing a pretty good job of that herself, but she didn't seem happy about it. I had a feeling she missed her best friend already.

'What if she's not evil like them?' I suggested. 'She could just be going with them because of, I don't know, brotherly love.'

Damon chuckled bitterly. 'Because those Originals sure do favour family ties. Come on, Stefan, get a clue! Elijah wanted his brother dead, Klaus killed their whole family, and they tricked their sister into believing she was human for a whole year.'

What he said was true. But I had a feeling it was more than that. And I knew Damon and Caroline thought so, too. Sometimes a vampire's intuition was just something that had to be followed. It was usually right.

Caroline opened her mouth to speak when we froze- movement came from the other room, were the unconscious humans were.

'I'll go get them!' Caroline squeaked as she rushed out of the room, leaving Damon and me to argue more.

But what surprised me, was that Damon didn't want to argue any more. He just sat there, looking utterly defeated.

**Caroline's POV. **

'Bonnie.' I sighed in relief as I saw my witchy best friend waking up. She blinked once, twice, and then smiled.

'Was I unconscious?' she asked with an uncharacteristically proud smile.

I frowned. 'Um, yes.'

She laughed. 'Good, then that means I did something.'

I chuckled. 'Not exactly.'

And then I explained everything- about Klaus, Elena and Elijah, and how Elena's not exactly the sweet human we all believed her to be.

Bonnie's frown was even deeper than mine by the end of it. 'That doesn't make any sense...' she mumbled weakly. I shrugged.

'No, it doesn't. But apparently it's true, and now we have no idea where to start if we're going to look for Elena.' I lowered my voice so Stefan and Damon couldn't hear it. 'Which is what you and me are going to do. I don't care if Stefan and Damon have given up on her, she's still our best friend, and we're not going to give up so easily. Right? Are you in?'

She blinked then smiled weakly. 'Sure I am.'

I raised an eyebrow, impressed once again by her passive calmness. Trust Bonnie to keep her cool in a situation like this.

**Elena's POV. **

'Oh, come on! We can go anywhere in the world.' I announced cheerfully when they exchanged blank looks.

'You don't want to stay here?' Klaus asked, clearly confused.

I frowned. 'You _do _want to stay here?'

He shrugged, frown still firmly in place. 'Not particularly. This little town is practically infested with young vampires, werewolves and witches. But I assumed you liked this little place. We were all prepared to stay for you.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'Seriously?'

'Of course.' Elijah chuckled. 'But, of course, if you _don't_ want to stay, just say so... we'd be more than happy to leave.'

'No, no.' I said quickly. 'I'm happy to stay. More than happy. Elated.' I grinned happily.

Klaus rolled his eyes. 'That fickle sister of ours.'

I frowned again. 'I'm not fickle.'

'Yes, you really are. It's quite irritating.'

'I'm not irritating, either.' I smirked. 'But I can be if you want me to be... though, I warn you, you won't like me when I'm being purposely irritating.'

'Oh, we know.' Elijah said drily, grinning. 'It's almost as bas as when you're being subconsciously irritating.'

I scowled. 'Oh, shut up. Where do we go now, then?'

Klaus smirked. 'I suggest celebratory drinks at the Mystic Grill. It's a filthy little place, but it's the only decent bar this town has.'

I hesitated. 'I'm not sure that's such a good idea... Elena Gilbert has a lot of friends and acquaintances. What if someone sees us?'

Elijah frowned. 'Why on earth would that be a problem?'

'Well, to see Elena Gilbert with two guys on her arm...' I trailed off, hoping they would get the hint.

They did.

Klaus raised an eyebrow. 'Whether it makes you look like a slut or not, we're still going. I do rather enjoy alcohol.'

'You can buy alcohol at the store.' I pointed out dejectedly, hesitantly following them as they walk.

'Since when did you care about keeping up appearances, Elena Pertrova?' Elijah questioned playfully.

I rolled my eyes. 'I don't. You know what? Whatever. It's not even me who they think I am, so it's all good.'

Klaus glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. I knew this even as I kept my eyes fixed on the dirt-path in front of me. 'Speaking of such matters, where is your doppelganger?'

I smirked. 'Katerina? Oh, I'm not too sure. She was here before you captured me and brought back my memories'. I shrugged. 'Probably off on some unknown island sipping Klaus-free margaritas.'

**A/N: Here it is, chapter three!  
>I hope you liked it, and thank you to all my reviewers! So pleased that I actually have quite a lot, compared to how my other stories started out... Means a lot to know the reviews are rushing in. ;) Thanks for reading, too. Anyway...<br>And yes, I stole a line from the Vampire Diaries show, so sue me. -.-  
>Thank you guys! :)<br>AlisaPhenom. XoXo **


	4. Drinking

**Chapter 4. **

**Elena's POV. **

'Brother, calm the hell down.' I growled as he tore a tree from its roots. Honestly, that brother of mine... he could be so over-dramatic. I raised an eyebrow at him when he finally stopped, cheeks flushed with anger. I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

'One day, that temper of yours will get you killed.' I smirked.

He simply scowled in response and I laughed again, then it quickly died out as we resumed walking and finally reached the grill.

As I expected, I gathered stares, being on the arm of two apparently handsome men. I stared the starers right back, and, of course, they were the first to cower and look away. I instantly went to the bar- my second time in this night.

'Tequila Sunrise- on the house.' I compelled the cute bartender and winked at him when he got me my drink. It was then that I noticed Klaus and Elijah were seated on either side of me and had done the same with a female bartender.

I sipped my drink, relishing in the familiar burn of alcohol rushing down my throat, and glanced around the grill/bar.

Hmm. Not many people were here, considering the amount of late-night drinkers that were _usually _here. There were a few men, either already drunk or on their way there, and a group of rowdy women who were definitely, definitely already drunk.

I narrowed my eyes at the the humans whose blood smelled so tempting, so appealing, yet was forbidden. Old as I may be, even I couldn't go skipping around, biting a few necks and draining a few innocents as I pleased. One, it was morally wrong. Two, it would be too conspicuous. The already alert Mystic Falls council would be on to vampires like a hungry man on food.

In a way, I envied these humans who had such easy lives. They had nothing more to worry about than perhaps losing their job, or having a fall-out with a close friend. They didn't need to worry about losing control and killing someone. They had it easy, and that was what I mainly envied. They could have children, grow old with the love of their lives... I couldn't do either of those things. I couldn't even stay with the love of my life, because he was dead. Thanks again, Klaus.

Elijah seemed to notice me watching them and followed my gaze, nodding in understanding. 'You wish you could be human.' he guessed.

I frowned and shook my head. 'I do not wish I could _be _human, dear brother. I wish I could be _like _a human. Every experience is a new one to them. They are like children, even when they have grown old.' I said sadly.

'And you envy that?' he asked incredulously.

I nodded, a smile forming on my face. Klaus decided to join in on the conversation.

'And it doesn't bother you that you can die at any unexpected time as a human?' he questioned with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged,

'I consider death a gift. Living for a thousand years, seeing all that we have seen, and knowing there is still more to come. That doesn't bother _you_?' I asked, finishing my drink and fiddling with a loose lock of my hair. I sighed.

'Did you enjoy being human?' Elijah asked, frowning just as much as I was.

'I did.' I said honestly. 'But I will _never _let that happen again.'

They chuckled and the subject was dropped and I glanced out the little round window to gaze at the beautiful night sky, a curtain of black midnight dotted with diamond stars and complete with a cratered white orb.

I had always been the poetic sibling.

'The night is beautiful, don't you agree?' I murmured.

Klaus chuckled. 'Anyone with eyes can see the beauty of the night, sorella.'

He waved his hand for another drink and I rolled my eyes, thankful that no one I- or, rather, Elena Glibert- knew was here.

'Why did you even put that spell on me in the first place?' I demanded suddenly.

Klaus and Elijah exchanged a look with raised eyebrows then looked at me.

'That is a question better left unanswered, Elena.' Elijah told me. I frowned.

'Why? What could possibly be so dangerous that even the three of us can't stop it?'

'No _one _person can be that dangerous, sorella. But a group of people, a large group of vampires, can be. Let us leave it at that.'

I always knew I had enemies, but a large group of vampires? If I had such enemies, why was I never made aware of it?

'Fine.' I sighed. 'But I expect answers soon.'

So we went on like that, through the night, talking about things we have missed and discussing future plans over alcohol.

And soon enough, my first night in my real life was over.

**Damon's POV. **

'So, what the hell are we going to do?' Jeremy growled out. Bonnie sighed- she and the others had woken up a few hours ago.

'I don't know, kiddo. Maybe we should just leave it.' Alaric said, frowning.

I stared at him. 'So you think we should just _leave it_? Like we can really do that?'

'Maybe she's not as bad as Klaus and Elijah.' Jenna offered, still refusing to believe that her niece could be a vampire.

'She did set us free.' Bonnie added.

I rolled my eyes. 'Let's just accept... let's just accept that she is the way she is. Then we can find out what to do about it.'

Stefan frowned at me. 'Since when were you so calm about all this?' he demanded.

I shrugged. 'Since I realised that calm is what Elena would want me to be.'

That shut everyone up pretty effectively.

**Elena's POV. **

The next morning I woke up lay in a large bed in a room painted with plain cream-coloured walls with one huge window. I narrowed my eyes and sniffed the air, and instantly relaxed when I realised I was just in Mrs Flowers' B&B hotel.

I assumed my brothers were in different rooms and leapt out of bed, remembering last night's events. I smiled at the memory.

_So, what am I going to do today_? I wondered absently as I sorted through my clothes- thankfully, stylish clothes- and finally settled on a short red dress and spike heels. If I was going to parade around Mystic Falls, I at least wanted to do it in style on this ridiculously sunny Saturday morning.

Then I remembered something else and groaned- this morning was the Lockwood's annual charity brunch. Pretty much the whole town was expected to be there. I perched on the edge of my bed, sighing, and glanced at the clock on the wall. We Original vampires had a special skill- we knew the time without having to look at a clock. It was something to do with the direction of the wind and the position of the sun in the sky. But as the curtain was drawn shut and there was no wind in my cosy little hotel room, a clock was a useful thing to have.

I learned the time was exactly 9:30am and smiled to myself. Just enough time for breakfast before the brunch at 10:00.

I left my room and wandered through the hall until I found the two separate rooms of both my brothers. I came across Elijah's room first, poking my head around the door with a smirk on my face.

'Don't forget about the Lockwood charity brunch in half an hour. I'm going to get some breakfast.' I winked.

He frowned. 'And you're wearing that to a brunch?'

I grinned a crooked grin. 'Well, I hardly want to wear jeans and a t-shirt to a Lockwood charity event, now, do I?' I mocked, before giving a mock-salute and leaving the room.

Next I went to Klaus' room, right next to Elijah's. He probably heard every word of our conversation, but I still wanted to see him. So I didn't bother knocking before I pushed the door open and smiled at him.

'You heard every word about the brunch today, am I right?' I asked with a smirk.

He nodded, grinning. 'Yes, I did. Enjoy your breakfast.'

'I plan to.' I winked, before shutting the door after myself and strutting downstairs, gathering awed stares from both the males and females who were staying at this particular hotel. Another perk to being an Original, specifically a female Original, was that just our presence in a room could be overwhelming to humans and vampires alike. I often enhanced that by sending stabs of desire towards the men- it sometimes came in as a handy trick.

And as I left, I briefly wondered what would be the expression on my friend's faces when I arrived at the brunch- would it be horror, shock, or something else?

**A/N: And there we go! :) Hope you enjoyed!  
>I'm sorry it took so long to update, I was caught up in the joys of sunshine and other stories- sorry!<br>I do love writing this story. It's so fun to see what Elena would be like as a vampire, especially an Original with two protective younger brothers. ;D  
>Thanks for the reviews! :D **Hearts** <strong>

**AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	5. Brunch

**Chapter 5. **

**Elena's POV. **

As for who to feed on, my choices were many. There were the early morning walkers (despite the morning not exactly being early), who liked to enjoy the morning solitude in the forest. They were an easy target. There were also the easily-compelled citizens casually strolling down the streets of Mystic Falls, some of them already clad in their best outfits, in preparation for the brunch in half an hour.

I sighed, tapping my index finger against my chin thoughtfully. Who to choose, who to choose? With a shrug and a smirk, I decided I may as well just follow the scent that called to me most, the blood that smelled the most delicious among these humans.

I sniffed the air eagerly, and a wicked grin sprang up on my face as I smelled a delicious combination of apple and cinnamon. I followed the scent to find that it was, indeed, an early morning walker- a slightly lonely-looking woman carrying two grocery bags as she strolled through the forest.

I approached her slowly. 'Excuse me?' I asked, inserting the correct amount of fear and nervousness into my voice.  
>The woman looked over to me and concern clouded her face as she slowly approached me.<p>

'Are you okay?' she asked, her voice matching the concern on her face.

'I-I'm afraid I'm a little lost.' I said, my voice dripping with false innocence- but, of course, I fooled the woman.

'Oh, you poor dear.' she said to me sympathetically, and I resisted the urge to snort. If only she knew what this _poor dear _was about to do to her. 'Where are you meant to be?'

I sighed, letting my voice turn cold and emotionless. No use letting her last moments be spent in innocent pretence. 'I don't know where the hell I'm meant to be, actually. Do you?' I asked, cocking my head to the side and approaching her slowly, each long stride making her more and more nervous. I had a feeling she no longer considered me the sweet, lost teenager she thought I was but a few moments ago.

'W-what are you talking about?' she asked, scared. And quite rightfully. I had allowed the ghost of my age to creep into my voice, striking more fear in her heart. I was a snake, she was a mouse. She was a victim- my victim.

'I'm talking nonsense, aren't I?' I grinned wickedly. 'I'm obviously insane, right? Well, I suppose you can think that, if you wish. But you're wrong. I'm not insane, really... I'm just old. Old, and hungry.' I added, sniffing the air again.

She swallowed hard, not daring to reply. I didn't care.

'I'm going to drink from you now.' I told her, ever so casual.

'What are you-'

But she didn't have time to finish. The snake struck.

**Damon's POV. **

I smirked at Stefan as he slowly descended down the steps.

'Why, don't we look _dashing_.' I mocked., and he scowled at me.

'Shut up, Damon. Can't you stop fooling around for just one minute?'

I shrugged. 'I could, but can you imagine how _boring _things would be then?' I smirked at him. He rolled his eyes.

'So, you think Elena will be at this brunch?' he asked.

'I know so. She was telling Bonnie just last week how much she was looking forward to it.'

He paused and looked at me. 'She's changed since last week, Damon. You know that.'

I glared at the ground. 'I do know that. I just know she's going to be at the Lockwood brunch today, okay? Trust me.'

'When have I ever not?' he teased, and I glanced incredulously at him.

'You should stop trying to joke, Stefan. It's not becoming of you.' I muttered, smirking to myself as I fixed my tie.

**Elena's POV. **

I flicked my tongue out to lick the corners of my mouth, wiping away any spare drops of blood. I glanced carelessly down at the half-dead woman at my feet, and hesitated. She would wake up soon- I hadn't taken _all _her blood. I smirked. That would be _barbaric_.

So should I leave her body here, to be found? Or take it somewhere... I sighed. It was 9:45, I needed to be getting to the Lockwood mansion.  
>I glanced down at myself, making sure there was no dirt, blood or rips in my lovely dress- there were none. I sighed and rushed at vampire speed to the Lockwood mansion. I wanted to get there early to help Mrs Lockwood get some preparations finished. I smiled to myself. Perfect.<p>

I was at the Lockwood mansion in seconds, greeted outside on the steps by Carol Lockwood herself. She smiled gratefully at me.

'Good morning, Elena. Thank you so much for agreeing to help. There's so much to be done!' she carried on speaking, but I stopped listening when I hit a barrier at the open door to the mansion. I cursed inwardly. Of course I needed to be invited in!

Carol seemed to notice that I wasn't responding, as she turned round with a confused look on her face. Her confusion only increased when she saw me waiting patiently outside the door.

'What are you still doing out there, Elena? Come on inside!' she fussed, beckoning me in. I grinned.

_Gladly_.

'So, what do you need help with, Mrs Lockwood?' I asked in my best polite voice- AKA the voice I always used as Elena Gilbert.

'Well, first of all, we really need to set up most of the food still. And please hurry, the guests will be arriving in just fifteen minutes!' she panicked after glancing at the grandfather clock in the corner. I smiled.

'I'll try my best.' I promised.

And so I did.

There was a lot of food that most humans would find delicious on display- blueberry pancakes delicately piled on top of each other, mini breakfast muffins arranged carefully on a large silver platter, mounds of French toast on the same platter as sweet-smelling apple parfaits, hashed potatoes and lots more foods. Such a lot of food for such a young girl like me to carry- or so they thought.

'Tyler will be down to help you in a moment.' Carol said, running around the room and checking every candle was lit and every surface was clean.

'Thank you.' I muttered insincerely.

As soon as I away from her sight, I began moving the trays and platters to the large, stretched dining table at vampire speed. Yes, it would look suspicious, but I could always compel one of the other 'workers' to say he helped me.

I was winking flirtatiously at a kind of hot guy who was helping prepare for the brunch when Tyler came down from his room to help out. He looked at me and narrowed his eyes, and I gave him a sweet smile and wave.

I walked over to him and whispered, 'Five hundred dollars says that you've been told about me and my life.'

His eyes narrowed at me, causing my grin to widen.

'Oh, come on Tyler, I'm kidding. There's really no need to be scared of me.' I said, looking into his eyes. I knew werewolves couldn't be compelled- the dirty things had vervain in their freaking saliva- but it's commonly known eye contact is a key ingredient in that wonderful little recipe for trust.

'I'm not scared of you, Elena. I'm pissed with you.' he said indignantly, sticking his chin up. I rolled my eyes at him and rearranged some platters so they looked a little more presentable.

'And why, exactly, are you pissed with me?' I asked innocently, looking up at him through my lashes. He rolled his eyes.

'Because you're not Elena Gilbert any more.' he answered, and I frowned.

'That's really not a good reason, Tyler. That's actually hardly a reason at all. And I never have been Elena Gilbert- I always have been Elena Petrova.' I informed him, staring him straight in the eye.

He didn't even flinch. 'And is Elena Petrova a good person?'

I smirked. 'Why don't you tell me? You've known her for the past year.'

He snorted. 'That wasn't _you_. That was someone you were pretending to be.'

'In case you didn't realise, I didn't actually know I was impersonating anyone.' I pointed out with a smirk.

'But you were.' he said.

I rolled my eyes and gave him a casual wave of my hand. 'Details, details. Anyway, the point is that even if that wasn't me, the feelings I developed while being Elena Gilbert were all mine, and mine alone. They were real. I felt them then, and I still feel them now- meaning I still consider you all my friends. I even still consider Stefan my boyfriend, though I doubt that will last.' I sighed. 'He's incredibly boring.'

'See!' he burst out, pointing an accusing finger at me. 'Elena Gilbert would never have said that!'

'_Elena Gilbert is me!_' I hissed.

He flinched from my tone and I forced myself to relax, to ignore that Tyler was getting on my last nerve.

_Breathe, Elena, breathe... _

The age-old calming method worked, as it always did on me, and I looked calmly at Tyler. 'So,' I continued, 'you can either accept it or not. What'll it be?'

He stared at me for a moment. 'You're not going to hurt me.' he stated.

I nodded, frowning. 'Of course not, idiot.'

He grinned at me, though it seemed a little forced. 'Then I'll give this a little try- but I can't say the others will do the same.'

I smiled at him. 'It's a start.'

I was just thankful that he was trying to trust me at all. It was surprising, but definitely welcome.

And so that's why, five minutes later, we were decorating the hall. I scowled at him when he dropped a candle as he quietly thanked god that it hadn't been lit like the others. He dusted off the dinted candle, shrugged, and put it on top of a high shelf. I stared incredulously at him- did he have no sense of decoration?

'What are you actually doing?' I asked him impatiently.

'Uh, decorating.' he answered, holding up a little bouquet of fake flowers and a pretty white vase.

'Well, you're doing a piss-poor job of it.' I smirked. 'Let me help.'

He rolled his eyes. 'Fine, though I doubt you'll be better... than...' he trailed off. I was already finished, and Tyler Lockwood just stared at the perfectly decorated hall.

'I'm sorry, you were saying?' I teased, wagging a finger at him.

He blinked, and glanced at me. 'Well, I still think I could do better.' he said gruffly.

To both of our surprises, I laughed.

'Come on, sport.' I said, grinning. 'The guests will be arriving shortly. Better go welcome them in.'

He made a face. 'I hardly think mine is the face all the fancy-ass residents of Mystic Falls want to see when they come to the first Lockwood charity brunch without my dad.'

I frowned. 'Why?'

He sighed. 'I can't live up to my dad's name. But whatever. You just, uh, hang around.' he said, and hurried off just as the doorbell rang. I raised an eyebrow at his retreating form. Did he just ask me to hang around- as in, stay here and behave? Like I was a dog? No, I was _not _having that. So, smirking to myself, I followed him and stood silently behind him as he greeted the first gues by the door. It was almost laughable how he didn't even notice I was there.

'Hi there, Mr and Mrs Jameson. Nice to see you.' I greeted, making Tyler jump slightly and turn to give me a glare.

'I thought I asked you to stay actually _inside_?' he told me.

I shrugged and grinned. 'I got bored being treated like a dog and told to sit and stay. So, you know, I followed you out here. It's for the best, too- my brothers are coming.' I said.

His eyes widened. 'Your brothers? You mean Klaus and Elijah?'

I frowned. 'What other brothers do I have?'

'Je-' he started, but stopped himself when he remembered that Jeremy wasn't _actually _my brother.

'Exactly.' I said, smiling when I heard my brothers approaching. 'And what good timing- they're here.'

'Oh, god.' Tyler groaned. 'Do you promise they'll, like, you know... _not _kill anyone today?'

I shrugged again. 'I can't make any promises, but I can certainly try.' I teased. He turned round and froze when he saw my dear brothers walking up the polished marble steps with taunting grins on their faces. I raised an eyebrow at them and rolled my eyes. They grinned widely at me and then smirked at Tyler.

'Hello, Lockwood.' Klaus said, the British accent I had abandoned flowing through his voice.

'Klaus.' Tyler greeted stiffly. He looked at Elijah. 'Elijah.'

Elijah nodded his head and greeting and turned to look at me once before turning back to Tyler.

'May we come inside?' he asked, gesturing with a nod towards the finely decorated inside of the Lockwood mansion.

'Of course.' Tyler said through gritted teeth. He was able to try and trust me, yes- but not my brothers. Never my brothers.

'I won't let them do anything bad.' I promised the young werewolf, and he nodded.

'Come on in.' he told my brothers.

'Happy to.' Klaus smirked as he and Elijah stepped inside.

'Trust you to be the third earliest arrivals out of the whole town.' I remarked as I waved an absent goodbye at Tyler, walking between my brothers.

'Only second?' Elijah teased, faking disappointment. 'A shame, we hoped to be the earliest.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Well, I was the first. So, really, you were beaten by a girl and a pair of elderly humans. Congratulations on that one.'

Klaus laughed and Elijah chuckled.

'Your wit never fails to amaze me.' Klaus said.

I raised an eyebrow. 'I'm hardly surprised. When I have miserable, overly-serious brothers like you two, there needs to be at least a little bit of humour in my life.'

Klaus frowned. 'We're not overly-serious.'

'Of course you are.' I chuckled. 'But I don't mind.'

**A/N: Yay, another chapter! Woo! And a long one as well- over 2000 words and 4 pages. Woo again!  
>Sorry about the wait for this one. Summer finally caught up to me, and I've been supremely busy over the last few days. Hope you liked this chapter, though! :)<br>Thank you all for the awesome reviews, and thank you all for reading. ;D  
>AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	6. Arguments

**Chapter 6. **

**Elena's POV. **

Soon enough, there were a lot of people here. I sauntered through the packs of people in search of my old friends, who, of course, were in deep conversation with Tyler. They suddenly looked over to me, and the emotion that crossed their faces really was priceless.

Both Damon and Stefan wore identical masks of shock, Bonnie looked unsure, Jeremy looked confused, Caroline looked doubtful, Tyler rolled his eyes, Jenna looked like she wanted to run to me, Matt looked upset.

I smirked at them and gave a little half-wave. I'd heard Tyler telling them he was going to give them a second chance.

Obviously, a few of them weren't taking it too well.

'Planning to talk them?' Elijah breathed, suddenly next to me. I raised an eyebrow, my gaze still fixed upon my... _friends_. I smirked at the concept. Myself, I wasn't good with friendly relationships... or was I?

'Yep.' I murmured back, popping the P. 'Planning to join me?'

He chuckled. 'Not even in your dreams, dear sister. I cannot stand the eldest Salvatore.' he turned his nose up for emphasis and I raised an eyebrow before rolling my eyes.

'You _can _call him Damon, you know.' I smirked.

'I know. But I choose not to.' he smiled at me before disappearing into the packs of people again. I turned back to my friends to see Damon and Stefan approaching me.

'What are you doing here?' Damon demanded instantly.

I simply looked at him, a small smile playing around my lips. 'Enjoying a wonderful brunch in the presence of wonderfully snobby people.' I shrugged, the small smirk now a fully-blown grin. 'You?'

He snorted. 'Really, Elena.'

'What?' I asked innocently, twirling a cocktail stick against my lip. 'What are _you_ doing here, Damon? Stefan? Because, last time I checked, vampires like you didn't enjoy brunch.'

Stefan shrugged and Damon watched me in anger and amazement.

'And last time I checked, you were human. Want to explain that?' the youngest Salvatore asked. I giggled.

'I thought that was already pretty much explained, Stefan?' I made a point of looking over the shoulders at the others, who were trying to be subtle while watching us carefully.

They were doing a piss-poor job of it.

'If you want me to leave you alone, you know, all you have to do is say so.' I informed them, my eyebrow raised.

'Where would be the fun in that?' Damon teased with a smirk.

I frowned. 'There'd be no fun, Damon, but you'd be a hell of a lot safer, and so would I. At least try and stay out of my way, okay? Okay.' I smiled a falsely warm smile at them. 'Have a great day.'

**Damon's POV. **

I watched with a hopefully furious expression as she sauntered away, gathering a few stares in her pretty red dress.

'Okay, so we do have to do something about her.' I admitted.

'Do we really?' Stefan asked bitterly, his gaze fixated in the same place as mine: on Elena's departing body.

I heard a murmur in Elena's voice, 'You _do _realise I can hear every word you say _and more_, don't you?'

I cursed. 'Good. I hope we hurt you so much that you crawl into the forest and die.'

I could hear the smirk in her reply. 'Don't overestimate yourself, honey. You don't mean _that _much to me.'

I didn't satisfy her with a reply. Her words stung enough already- not that I would show it.

**Elena's POV. **

All in all, the Lockwood Annual Charity brunch was successful. Tons of people showed up, and I had a chance to confront Stefan and Damon. Not that I took that chance- no, the opportunity was wasted on taunts and insults.

I had to admit, it kind of hurt when Damon told me he wanted me to crawl into the forest and die.

Not that I would show it.

'Enjoying your early morning drink?' Klaus teased, startling me. He was the only person who could do that- he was just unnaturally quiet, and also enjoyed teasing me mercilessly. I was sipping a cocktail, not caring that it was ten thirty. I was a vampire, and a powerful one at that- I can do whatever the hell I want.

'Klaus.' I sighed. 'I should have known it was you. I could hear your giant ego scraping along the walls as it tried to fit in this tiny room.'

He laughed. 'Ouch, sorella. I take it you've spoken to your...' he turned his nose up, 'friends?'

I smirked, raising an eyebrow and looking at him. 'I wouldn't call them friends, Klaus. You know me- no friends.'

He frowned. 'Of course you have friends. You have many friends.'

I smiled. 'It was a joke, dearest brother. Lighten up.'

He grinned at me. 'I could hear your conversation, actually. Fascinating, really.'

'You mean you were eavesdropping.' I corrected.

He smirked. 'No- I didn't _choose _to have supernatural hearing ability, after all.'

I rolled my eyes. 'You remind me somewhat of Damon.'

He snorted. 'I should hope not.'

I smiled softly. 'You kind of do. You're both sarcastic and witty, you have pretty much the same smirk, neither of you mind killing to get what you want, and both of you can tease me to no avail and get no qualms of conscience over the act.' I explained.

He raised his eyebrows as I finished my drink and popped a grape in my mouth.

'You sound somewhat bitter.' he commented.

I gave him a wry glance. 'You think?'

'Why?'

'You should know. I just got told to crawl into a forest and die by someone who I thought was my friend.' I lowered my voice when saying this, so the blue-eyed vampire who said it couldn't hear me.

Klaus' expression softened. 'You know, they don't really mean that. And you should be more careful about who you choose as your friends.'

'I am careful.' I defended.

He raised an eyebrow. 'And you need to focus on your mood swings. You even have them as a vampire. One minute you're cool, one minute you're sarcastic, then bitter, then sad. It's bordering on ridiculous.'

I heard a snort and didn't have to look away to know Elijah had joined the conversation.

'Bordering?' his elegant voice questioned, and I laughed.

'If you're trying to cheer me up, you're doing a god-awful job of it.' I pointed out.

Klaus grinned. 'Why on earth would we try to cheer you up?'

Elijah slung an arm around my shoulder. 'Yeah, we're cold heartless vampires with no moral conscience.' he said dryly.

I cringed. 'I didn't know who you were when I said that, okay?'

'You said that?' Klaus asked incredulously.

I nodded guiltily, but met their eyes with a sly look in my own. 'When I thought I was human, and I was mad at Elijah- I told him you were all cold, heartless and had no moral conscience.' I shrugged. 'The look on his face was pretty amusing, even then.'

Elijah scowled. 'You never cease to amaze me with your _baffling wit_.' he remarked.

I raised an eyebrow playfully. 'I know. I'm hilarious.'

**Damon's POV. **

Stefan, Caroline and I tried to listen to as much of their conversation as we could. They lowered their voices in parts, much to our frustration.

'Oh, and by the way- we have listening ears.' we heard Elena point out, and we exchanged glances before pretending to be occupied in conversation with each other.

'Obviously. And right now they're pretending to be deep in conversation- and they're not doing a very good job of it.' Elijah's voice criticized, 'They're not even talking.'

I scowled and turned to look at them, making sure my middle finger let Elijah know just what I thought of him. The three of them burst out into laughter, and I noticed that Elena was the first to stop and glare at us. Um, okay. So apparently she didn't take too well to our previous conversation.

'Having fun, _Elena_?' I muttered under my breath. I knew she could hear. I didn't doubt her for a second.

'Oh, yes. I'm having a wonderful time- aren't you?' she mocked.

I opened my mouth to retort but Caroline beat me to it. 'We're having a great time, actually.'

Okay, so the Vampire Barbie wasn't great with sarcastic remarks.

I made a mental note to work with her on that one.

'You need to stay away from us.' Elena's voice was suddenly serious, and I met her eyes from across the room and was surprised to see that they were almost... pleading.

'Why should we?' I challenged.

She shrugged. 'You'll get hurt. Elijah, Klaus; I'm going to talk to them.' she added to her _brothers_. It was still strange to think of the two Originals as the brothers to the supposedly human girl I loved.

She walked over to us, her hips swaying seductively as she moved, and when she had joined us she smirked.

'This is better- nice and cosy.' she announced.

'Get to the point.' Stefan said tiredly.

'Aw, that's just mean.' she pouted, but I saw the amusement dancing in her eyes. 'And I thought you loved me.'

'We don't love you.' I sneered, not sure where I was getting at here. 'We feel the opposite of love for you- we hate you.'

She raised an elegant eyebrow and Stefan and Caroline threw my incredulous looks- okay, maybe I went a little overboard.

'The opposite of love is not hate, Damon. It is indifference. So, do you feel indifference toward me?' she asked.

I scowled and repeated my little brother's earlier words. 'Get to the point.'

**A/N: Here we go!  
>Sorry the update took so long, I was hit with a little bit of writer's block. But I'm back now, so yay! :D<br>Apparently, all you need is some peace and quiet while lying on your bed spilling cola and eating sandwiches with the window open...  
>But anyway, yes. Thanks for the lovely reviews, and thanks for reading and such! :)<br>Love you guys!  
>AlisaPhenom. XoXo<br>PS, It'll be helpful for you to know that there will be NO UPDATES AT ALL NEXT WEEK. Sorry, but unless my dad's magically managed to fix the internet connection (Hey, don't lose hope yet!) then there will be no updates for any of my stories. Sorry! **


	7. Sun

**Chapter 7. **

**Elena's POV. **

I smirked to myself as Damon repeated his little brother's earlier words.

'The point, Damon, is exactly what I said- you should all stay away from me. As annoying as you are, I'm not in the mood to clean your wounds.'

'You sound just like Katherine.' Caroline's voice was bitter.

I threw her a glare. 'Maybe my doppelganger takes after me more than you'd expect.'

'Wait, wait.' Stefan held up a hand. 'What do you mean, your doppelganger?'

I stared at him like he was stupid- well, in all honesty, he was being incredibly stupid right now. With me being five hundred years older than Katherine, did he really, seriously think that she'd given birth to _my _ancestors? I think he did.

'You really are an idiot.' I mused, an amused smirk playing at the corners of my lips.

He frowned, and I rolled my eyes. 'Stefan, Katherine is _my _doppelganger- I gave birth to her great, great, great, great grandmother. Understand?' I asked slowly, as if speaking to a child.

I laughed when he scowled.

'So, you gave birth- I didn't know that was possible.' Damon steered the conversation away from his little brother's stupidity, to my relief.

I shrugged, feeling a wave of sadness at the memory of my dear baby girl who I hadn't even had the chance to name when she was born. She was taken away from me on the spot, and I'd had only Klaus and Elijah to comfort me.

'Yes, it is. My baby was taken from me, just like Katherine's was. It's ironic, really. Our lives took almost the same path.'

'That must have been sad.' Caroline said, scrutinizing me with narrowed eyes. 'Having your baby get taken away from you.'

I struggled to keep my face a calm, emotionless mask. 'Yes, it was.'

I threw my two brothers an annoyed glance, not liking how they were leaving all the talking to me. They both gave me identical smirks back, and I let a scowl cross my face as I looked back at Damon, Stefan and Caroline.

'And I think you have a funny way of changing the subject.' I stated, letting my voice take on a threatening tone. 'Now, I will only say this once more: stay away from me. From now on, don't even think about me- don't worry, soon enough it'll be easier. Elijah, Klaus; it's about time we left.' I hissed, turning my back on the people that I would have done anything for a few days ago.

'You shouldn't have told them about such a weakness as your baby.' Klaus scolded as we walked away from the packed Lockwood mansion.

I rolled my eyes. 'And you think I don't know that?'

'I'm just saying,' he insisted, 'they will use it against you in the future.'

'If they're smart, they won't be around to do that in the future.' I countered.

'You know for a fact that they're not going to stay away from you.' Elijah raised an eyebrow.

I sighed, shrugging carelessly. 'I know. But it's their choice if they want to put their lives at risk just for a little curiosity.'

'Why do I hear a note of regret in your voice?' Klaus asked chidingly.

I paused then smiled brightly at him. 'Because I so deeply regret doing _this_.'

I smirked, pulling his smart tie from around his neck and running away with it trailing behind me, laughing at my own childishness.

Both of my little brothers played along. 'Give it back, sorella!' Klaus yelled, chasing me. I only increased my speed, laughing.

'Never!' I shouted back, giggling when I was toppled to the floor and ended up chasing Klaus, who now had both his tie and one of my shoes.

'Both of you are honestly so childish.' Elijah said, shaking his head as he offered a hand to pull me up. With a sly smile, I took his hand, planning to take his own tie...

But I was surprised when he knocked me straight back to the ground and stole my other shoe. I heard his laugh as he ran away to join his brother, and I let out a low chuckle as I started chasing them both.

'Surrender now, while you still can!' I yelled playfully at them.

'Never!' they both replied at the same time, repeating my own word.

I smiled softly at how similar my two brothers are- they would never admit it, but aside from the rather different looks, they could be twins. It was like they shared the same mind.

I knew how strange it was for three Original vampire siblings to be playing chase with each other, but it was what we needed, and it reduced the tension- it was _fun_.

So, a few minutes later, we were chasing each other down the street that led up to our hotel. Of course, we had now reduced our chasing to human-speed, so the passing citizens wouldn't be alarmed at the figures blurring past them. Then again, I doubted half the people in Mystic Falls would notice- they were hardly the most observant of people, as I had learned over the last year.

'Okay! Okay, stop!' Elijah said, laughing.

I chuckled. My bare feet didn't even ache from running around without shoes- not that I expected them to. I had experienced far worse pain than simply a lack of shoes.

Nevertheless, I must look strange running around barefoot, so I snatched one of my shoes from Elijah's hand and the other from Klaus' hand, sticking my tongue out at my brothers as I did this.

Klaus laughed at me. 'Maybe someday we can have a race, and you won't let us win.'

I pretended to be shocked. 'Me? Let you win? Why, when would I ever do that?' I gasped.

Elijah rolled his eyes. 'You always let us win- and here was me, thinking that you loved victory too much to let it go for anyone.'

'That's true, but I can't let my little brothers feel bad about losing to a girl, can I?' I teased.

We were laughing and, shockingly, having a genuinely god time in each other's company as we walked into the hotel and separated as we entered our different rooms.

One good thing about being an Original was, of course, our extremely keen hearing- without even meaning to, I heard everything from the other rooms in the hotel. I knew who was having affairs, who had just moved here, who had just left their spouse... yes, at times it could be a burden, but that hardly ever happened- if anything, it was a gift. I didn't understand why people would complain about having the best hearing available.

I sighed as I flopped down on my soft white bed, contemplating the events of the last day and a half. Thinking about it, the spell Greta had performed on me was really rather strange. It was certainly not the most heard-of spell in the world, and could in fact be known as one of the rarest. You had to be very powerful to be able to perform it, and I found myself wondering if Bonnie Bennett would be able to cast a spell like that.

Of course, I now remembered the reason the spell was cast in the first place. I had many enemies, all of whom felt such a burning rage for me that they're willing to kill me. I honestly never knew what I did to piss these people off, but I know that I had to have done something bad- I wouldn't have been shot in the head with a vervain soaked wooden bullet if I'd done nothing.

So, yes. I have enemies, many of whom have attacked me over the years- clearly to not much avail. But it seems that my brothers know more than me- why is that? I needed to know what they were hiding from me, because it was obviously something relevant to me and why the three of us felt the need to turn me human- for just a year.

I sighed again as I looked out the window to the burning sun. Many humans thought the sun was beautiful- I didn't. It was kind of pretty, if you looked at it in a certain angle, but to me it was just a flaming orb of heat and fire. Even that was a far too poetic term to describe the thing that kills so many vampires. I was grateful to be able to look at it without being blinded, though.

It was then that I realised that it was still close to midday, and I had the rest of the day to occupy myself with.

'What to do, what to do?' I murmured to myself out loud, not caring that my brothers could hear it. I decided that I should first change out of my fancy clothes- it was hardly smart to walk around Mystic Falls wearing a tight red dress with black killer heels.

Pulling my wardrobe open, I decided on a black catsuit with a simple black jacket. What? I like to keep my style gorgeous and original.

Looking in the mirror, I knew I looked good.

My lips were still red and my eyes were still smoky, but I found I didn't want to bother myself with the little effort it would take to get myself cleaned up, so I simply left my face the way it was and strolled out the room, mumbling a quick _see you later _for my brothers as I left.

**Damon's POV. **

I growled as I watched Elena leave with _Klaus _and _Elijah_. Brothers or not, I'd never get used to seeing them on her arm.

'Way to bring up a touchy subject, Caroline.' I snapped finally, after a good few seconds of stunned silence.

'Ex_cuse_ me?' the blonde spat, glaring at me.

''_That must have been sad, having your baby taken away from you_'. Because that's such a sensetive way to go about something like that!' I snarled, not caring that people around us were turning around to give us strange looks and listen to our argument.

'Oh, listen to this, from the King of Sensitivity himself!' Caroline retorted. 'You're just mad that she left, and you're looking for someone to blame about that.'

'Clearly.' I said sarcastically.

'You're such a bastard!' Caroline hissed.

'You two! Just shut up!' Stefan intervened, glaring at both of us. 'You two arguing about things will _not _help in the slightest here, so _shut_ _up_!'

I raised an eyebrow at my suddenly assertive little brother, as did Caroline, but I didn't say anything more. All I did was throw the vampire Barbie a withering glare, which she gladly returned.

'We need to follow her.' Stefan said, holding a clenched knuckle against his lips.

'Well, duh.' Caroline rolled her eyes, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Sometimes she seriously made me want to throttle her.

'She has a fairly distinctive smell.' I noted. 'She smells like... cinnamon and peaches.' _She smells wonderful_, I wanted to add.

'So we just follow the smell of cinnamon and peaches?' Caroline asked skeptically.

'We just follow the smell of cinnamon and peaches.' I confirmed.

And so we did.

**A/N: I FINALLY UPDATED, YAAAAAAAY!  
>I'm so sorry this update took so long, I was just so busy! But that's no excuse, so again, I'm really sorry. O:)<br>Thanks for still reading and reviewing and everything, too! It means a lot, you know that, right? I'm just glad there are some people who enjoy the story.  
>Am I rambling? I think I am. Don't worry, it's just that I'm in a rambling mood, so yeah- if anyone in the story was rambling, too... sorry about that. O;)<br>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	8. Visit

**Chapter 8. **

**Caroline's POV. **

As we moved, I couldn't help but feel sad about it all. Sure, maybe the Elena we thought we knew didn't exist, she never had existed, but that didn't mean I couldn't miss her like hell. If she was in this situation- and not starring as the bitchy Original vampire- she would be finding comfort in Stefan, making sure everyone else was okay before even thinking about putting herself first, and she'd be kept busy trying to keep Damon from freaking out like he's kind of doing now.

'This way.' said blue-eyed vampire declared, turning a sharp left, revealing... whoa. Revealing three laughing vampires, one of which was squealing as she was toppled to the ground and had her shoes taken away. Elena...

I felt a pang of sadness hit me as I remembered how Elena, Bonnie and I would play such games- or... or how we _didn't _play such games. It was hard to remember that Elena Gilbert's whole existence was a lie. She hadn't really lived in Mystic Falls all her life- she hadn't even existed. She was just a vision, planted in our minds by the very person who was currently playing games with her two Original vampire brothers.

'What the hell are they doing?' Stefan asked quietly, fascination in his voice.

'I was just about to ask the same thing.' Damon murmured with narrowed eyes as we all watched Elena, Klaus and Elijah Petrova chasing each other.

'They're moving away. Come on.' I said, moving closer to the trio as they chased each other in the direction of the Flowers' B&B Hotel.

'They must be staying at that hotel.' I whispered.

'Keen observation.' Damon mocked before being slapped in the arm by his brother. His eyes immediately went back to watch as Elena and her brothers stopped chasing each other.

'I think we've seen enough.' Damon said, his voice tight.

**Elena's POV. **

I sniffed the air cautiously as I walked down the same street through which I'd been playing chase with my brothers not minutes ago. As I did so, three very individual scents hit my nostrils, and I cursed myself for not noticing before that me, Elijah and Klaus had been followed. I suppose we'd just been having too much fun to notice... either that, or Caroline Forbes and the Salvatore brothers were much more sneaky than I gave them credit for.

Both were extremely plausible options.

I rolled my eyes as I felt the warm rays of the sun hit me like a bullet when I stepped out of the shadows I'd been walking in. Though I didn't need it, being an Original vampire, I wore my pretty lapis lazuli necklace, simply because it was always a nice accessory, and you never know when you might need it to trick a simple mind.

I briefly wondered what it was that the three young vampires had seen and then sighed, deciding it would probably best to ask them myself. If they were going to ignore my warning, then it was just too bad. They were going to have to put up with the consequences of ignoring me.

So, I now knew my destination.

I was going to the Salvatore boarding house.

I reached the huge boarding house within minutes. It wasn't hard to get to, especially with my wonderful vampire speed. I had no doubt that they were there, along with their other little friends. I could smell them- all of them. It was quite a wonderful thing, really, that they'd all come together to stop the big bad Originals. Very touching.

I didn't even bother knocking before I kicked the door open and barged in, hurrying to the living room where I knew they all were.

Sure enough, when I entered, seven shocked faces whipped around to look at me.

I smiled at my audience. 'Oh, hey.' I leaned casually against the doorframe as if waiting for them to continue talking about whatever it was that they had been discussing before I got here. 'Oh, please, do carry on. Don't let me interrupt.'

Damon growled. 'What the hell are you doing here?'

I shrugged casually, meeting his gaze dead on. 'Well, since you took it upon yourselves to follow _me_, I thought it would be nice of me to return the favour.'

'Us, follow you?' Damon asked innocently. 'Why, whatever gave you that idea?'

I snorted. 'Don't play innocent with me. I'm not as stupid now as I was as a human.'

He glared at me for that one. But, hey, at least no one had attacked me- yet.

Stefan stared at me. 'How did you know we followed you?'

I felt a soft, ghostly smile tugging at the corners of my lips. 'It was kind of obvious, don't you think? I have to admit, though, it took me longer than I would have liked to figure it out.' I pouted.

This time, it was Jeremy's gaze that I caught and I almost felt bad about the sadness in his eyes.

'You sound just like Katherine.' he said sadly.

I groaned in annoyance. 'Oh, please. If anything, _Katherine_ sounds like _me_.'

'Oh, yeah. Her being _your _doppelganger and all.' Damon smirked, as if he'd hit a target.

I smiled sweetly. 'You know, Damon, it almost seems like it _doesn't _bother you that you were rejected by the only two people you've ever loved.'

His smirk dropped and I saw raw agony flash across his face before Stefan interrupted. 'That was a desperate move, Elena.' he said, glaring fiercely at me.

'Me? Desperate? Please, I'm not Katherine, however much you may think otherwise.'

Okay, so I have to admit- I knew how harsh it was to bring Damon's love life into it. But I really didn't care; I wasn't going to let anyone bring up anything even remotely related to my baby/

'So,' I said cheerfully, 'Who's going to tell me why you three young ones tried to follow me?'

'Can you blame us for wanting to know more?' Caroline asked seriously.

I rolled my eyes. 'There is such thing as asking, you know.'

'We did ask.' Damon pointed out.

I smirked. 'But you didn't ask _nicely_. Really, is it so hard to just say a simple please?'

Everyone in the room glared at me, and it was then that I noticed a shift in the air. There was another presence here- two, in fact. I sighed, hating that these two people couldn't leave me alone for five minutes.

'Klaus, Elijah, I know you're here- somewhere.' I called out, much to the confusion of the younger vampires and humans around me. Sure enough, two sheepish Original vampires stepped out of two shadowed corners.

'Why are you here?' I demanded them, tapping my foot impatiently. Really, did they not trust me enough to let me take a 'walk' on my own for a few minutes?

Elijah shrugged. 'To keep an eye on you.'

'However much you may say otherwise, you need to be protected.'

'I can protect myself, thank you very much.' I snapped.

Klaus snorted. 'Yeah, we can tell.' he then looked at the others in the room. 'And you. Why did you follow us?'

Damon rolled his eyes impatiently. 'You really are making a big deal out of this following thing. What's up with that, Elena? Got something to hide?' he stared at me. Trying to stare me down, presumably. Sigh. He'd have better luck staring down an oncoming train.

I opened my mouth to answer but was interrupted by both Elijah and Klaus tensing up, both butting a protective hand on my arm.

'Who's there?' Elijah asked the air wearily.

I sighed. 'Great. Another interruption.'

I took note of the skilled blurs flying past like a shadow in the living room of the Salvatore boarding house. It was definitely a vampire- but who? I think I had an idea.

'Nico?' I asked cautiously. If it _was_ Nico, then I knew that he would mean no harm- but that didn't mean he wouldn't deliver it.

Nico, being my other brother.

He stopped moving then, and it was revealed that it was, indeed, my floppy-haired brother.

Well, damn.

'What the _hell _are you doing here?' I demanded.

'I thought you were dead.' Elijah raised an eyebrow. He and Klaus seemed to be the only ones keeping calm.

I, on the other hand, was on the verge of freaking out. Standing there, all calm and collected, was my supposedly dead brother- the very brother who Klaus was supposed to have murdered on his little rampage out of anger for his dead father?

Nico looked at us all. 'What, didn't you miss me?' he asked us with a small pout and hurt in his eyes.

Ever the drama queen.

I looked at the grey-eyed vampire as if he were retarded. 'Are you actually being serious?' I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

'What?' he asked defensively.

I stared at him for another few seconds before cracking up with laughter. I liked laughing- it wasn't something I did often, and was a wonderful way to reduce tension and just... feel nice.

'_Why are you laughing_?' he demanded, a tinge of irritation in his voice. I stopped laughing immediately, but I couldn't keep the extremely amused smirk off my face.

'I can't believe you seriously just asked that question, Nico. Of course we didn't miss you.' I rolled my eyes at my brother, with whom I had formed a love-hate relationship with in our time together- before Klaus used murder to separate our family. 'I can see that you haven't changed a bit.'

He scowled. 'And neither have you, I see. Still caught between the love of two men?' he mocked, sparing the Salvatore brothers a mocking glance.

My smirk fell immediately and I glared angrily at him for daring to bring up my past. 'Do not speak of such things with that kind of ease, Nico. You would be wise to remember that I don't take such insults well.' I warned.

He seemed to cower under my intense glare, and I made my expression soften. If anything, Nico Petrova had been the most defiant and dramatic of all our Original siblings. He always argued with me and never ceased to annoy even the most patient of vampires, yet he somehow still had his ways of making you smile and forgive him whenever he did something wrong. My brother was just charming like that.

'So, how many of you still... exist?' I asked. He knew what I was referring to- I was speaking of my other sibling, the siblings I thought had been lost when Klaus had taken his rage over his lost father out on our family.

He shrugged nonchalantly. 'Not many.' he shot a glare at Klaus. 'Thanks to you, _brother_.'

Klaus raised his hands defensively. 'Impulsive anger issues- so sue me.'

Nico scowled at him and then looked at me, a small smirk curving the corners of his lips. 'The few of us who did survive Niklaus' _impulsive anger issues_ are most likely busy avoiding the three of you. You have gained quite a... reputation.'

'Reputation?' I cocked an eyebrow. 'How so?'

He shrugged again. 'You are somewhat known for never leaving each other's sides. Everything you have done, you seem to have done together.'

'And all of our other siblings think me and Elijah have betrayed them by staying with the brother who killed our family.' I guessed.

'Bingo.' Nico grinned. 'It's not gaining you many brownie points, let me tell you.'

'I figured that much.' I said dryly. 'So, pray tell. Why are you here?'

He rolled his eyes. 'Thought I should warn you.'

I raised an eyebrow delicately. 'Warn me? Warn me about what?'

He met my stare dead on, and steel grey eyes met chocolate brown. 'That's for you to find out.' was all he said, before my little brother vanished using his vampire speed.

There was dead silence for a few minutes, the air filled only with the sound of shocked breathing, before I smirked and said, 'Well, that was interesting.'

'What did he mean by that?' Bonnie demanded, the young witch speaking for the first time.

I shrugged. 'Something sinister. But don't worry, he won't be back.'

'How do you know that?' Alaric asked.

A small chuckle escaped my lips. 'I just know. He's my brother, after all.'

'Yeah... about that.' Damon frowned. 'Exactly how many brothers- and sisters- do you have?'

'I'm the only female child in our family.' I pursed my lips. 'And I'm not sure how many are still alive, apart from us three and Nico.' I playfully gave Klaus a pointed glare.

He rolled his eyes. '_Impulsive anger issues_.'

**A/N: Ugh, not my best chapter...  
>What did you think anyways? Feel free to drop a review, hint hint! O:)<br>Thanks for all the reviews and stuff that I already have, by the way, that's awesome! And I'm sorry the update took so long... this chapter was just there in my file box for, like, three days. So, yeah, sorry1 ;)  
>Like I said, it's not my best, but it's the most I can offer right now. I think I'm suffering writer's block- bummer. But I <span>promise<span>, I will always try and update! And if I don't, you can give me a virtual slap.  
>**Virtual slap for myself**<br>See? Just do that.**

**You guys are awesome!  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo <strong>


	9. Explanation

**Chapter 9. **

**Damon's POV. **

I raised an eyebrow at Klaus. This whole thing had turned out to be something that, even though I went through it, was hard to believe. How many more siblings _did _Elena- and Klaus, and Elijah- have? And what did this Nico mean by _that_?

'He could have at least been a little more informative than that.' Elijah grumbled, crossing his arms.

Elena chuckled. 'Well, he's Nico. He just _loves_ to play games with us.'

'When it comes to games, I prefer things like Hide and Seek. Not _let's-not-tell-Elena-who's-coming-to-kill-her-this-time_.' Klaus muttered bitterly.

'I like playing chase.' Elena grinned. Both Klaus and Elijah chuckled, and I glared at Klaus.

'Who's to say that someone- or some_thing_- is trying to kill Elena? They could just be, I don't know... sending a message or whatever.' Bonnie suggested feebly, making half of those present sigh and roll their eyes.

'Nico did that job for them. Great suggestion, though, Bon Bon.' I mocked, making her scowl at me and flop her head onto the mini-Gilbert's shoulder. Speaking of Jeremy... he'd been remarkably quiet all morning. It must be difficult to see your supposed sister in such a new light, I guess.

'No bickering.' Stefan warned us, then turned to Elena. 'Elena, I think we should talk.'

The brunette beauty groaned in annoyance. 'Why?' she whined.

'Because there are some things you should tell us.' Caroline said seriously. 'Please.'

Elena hesitated, then nodded, all amusement gone from her face. 'I guess I should do that. Now, where should I start?'

'At the beginning?' I suggested, a smirk playing at the corner of my lips.

'Sounds like a good place to begin.' a rueful smile crossed Elena's face before it disappeared completely. She sighed, and continued, 'I was born, like my brothers, one thousand years ago, around 1000 A.D. I was the only girl, among ten brothers- I learned to take care of myself pretty quickly.' she smirked. 'I'm the third oldest. We lived a pretty peaceful life, all things considered- we were somehow born to vampires, so we obviously needed to kill to survive, but back then we didn't care much about it. We were young, we were willing. But then Klaus was born...' her gaze landed on the Original. 'To our mother, but not to my father. Mother had an affair- with a werewolf, no less. It caused an uproar in our family, and our father was furious. He tracked down Klaus' real father and killed him. When Klaus found out, he was equally angry- his anger was... uncontrollable.' her voice turned soft. 'He killed my father first. But his blood lust, mixed with his hybrid power, spiralled out of control. He killed them all- our whole family, or so I thought, dead at my brother's hands. I took Elijah, and we ran away for a short time until we returned to our brother. Klaus had calmed down considerably, and was filled with regret at his actions. We didn't know if anyone else had survived, and when we asked Klaus, he said that he didn't keep count. We didn't leave each other's sides from then on, we only stayed with each other.'

She glanced around at us. I'm pretty sure we all had similar expressions- wide eyes, gaping mouths, all round surprise.

'What happened then? How did you make so many... enemies?' I pressed, genuinely curious. So, Klaus was a hybrid... interesting. The whole story had me both shocked and intrigued.

Elena looked at me and shrugged delicately. 'We weren't ashamed of who we were. We liked to kill, we enjoyed the hunt; we were never particularly nice people.' she smirked softly. 'I guess I, along with my brothers, just pissed a lot of people off. Although, when you think about it, I suppose it could have something to do with my staying with the hybrid child who killed our whole family.' her expression was nonchalant.

'Yeah, have I ever thanked you for sticking with me?' Klaus asked dryly, throwing his sister and brother a small, mischievous smile.

'You have now.' Elijah grinned at him.

Alaric cleared his throat frustratingly, and the trio turned their attention back to us.

'Any more questions?' Elena asked.

I knew that we were all surprised at the information we had just been given. I think we _all _had questions.

But none of us were in any position to ask. Elena may act like she doesn't care, like she's somewhat proud of the killings she took part in, but I knew different. I knew that she cared more than she let on- that a part of her was still human.

I didn't know how, but I knew it. And I was definitely, no question about it, going to use that to my advantage.

**Elena's POV. **

Caroline was the first to break the stunned silence. 'Wow.' she breathed.

I smirked. 'Excellent reaction.' I commented before getting smoothly to my feet, followed by my all-too-annoying brothers who, for some reason, thought it would be clever to follow me here. God, they were idiots, considering that they were supposed to be big bad vampires and all.

Some of the oldest in history, too. I smiled to myself.

'Wait, wait, you're going?' Jenna asked, surprise etched into her voice.

I frowned. 'Well, yes. That's what I was planning.'

They exchanged a look and I sighed. 'Unless you want us to stay. I know, our company is too good to resist.' Klaus drawled, a charming smirk on his face. I'm pretty sure that Jenna, Caroline and even Bonnie just swooned- such was the power of my devilish brother.

'We'd prefer for just Elena to stay, actually.' Stefan said, his gaze boring into me. I rolled my eyes, turning to my brothers.

'You can go.' I dismissed them.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. 'You think we're just going to leave?'

'I can take care of myself, thank you. You shouldn't even be here in the first place, anyway.' I snapped.

'But-'

I cut Klaus off. 'Leave.' I ordered, and they did so, after much reluctance. After I was sure they were gone, I turned back to my former friends and family.

'Why is it that you wanted me to stay?' I questioned, perching once again on the end of the sofa.

Stefan shrugged. 'I figured that there's some more you should tell us.'

I snorted. 'Shows how utterly fantastic your intuition is, Steffy. There's nothing more to say.'

I didn't miss the small smirk on Damon's face at my words, and I didn't feel guilty when an extremely brief flash of hurt flashed across Stefan's face before he expertly covered it up and shrugged carelessly. I didn't mind, though, for I was planning to stay anyway. There were some things I needed from these guys.

'Can I go now?' I asked, false hopefulness in my voice.

They all shook their heads slowly. I let out another sigh and leaned back farther in my seat. To some, it would look simply as if I would relaxing- when, in truth, I was positioning myself so I would be ready to strike if they tried to do anything. It was always best to be on guard.

'Fine, then. What else is it that you want?' I demanded.

'Well, what I'd like to know is if any more of your siblings are going to show up, uninvited, in my house again.' Damon said sweetly, smiling mockingly.

I hesitated. 'Well, as long as I'm in town, I can't guarantee that that won't happen. Which is why I warned you to stay away from me.'

'Really?' Bonnie asked, emotion in her voice. I realised then that I'd just implied that I didn't want them to get hurt, and, however true that was, I couldn't let them know that I still cared. No way.

I shrugged casually. 'Well, it's part of the reason. The other reason is because you are all absolute pains in my ass.'

'You sound like Damon now.' Jeremy groaned unhappily.

I raised an eyebrow and my eyes met Damon's cerulean blue ones.

'Well, we can't have that, now, can we?' I smiled softly.

'No way.' Damon smirked in answer.

'So, Damon, from this moment on you will not behave like me in any way.' I grinned lopsidedly. 'Start now.'

He glared at me in response, making me giggle.

I could have some fun with these guys.

**Klaus' POV. **

'You do know what this means, don't you?' I asked Elijah as we walked, at an annoyingly human pace, back to the hotel that we didn't need. After all, we could simply buy a house- but at least in a hotel we had all our basic needs covered easily. I shook away irritating thoughts of our current 'living' arrangement and focussed on what my brother was saying.

'I certainly know what it implies.' he sighed. 'Whoever is after Elena isn't going to stop until they have her.'

'This whole thing would be much easier if we knew who the hell was after our sister.' I said frustratedly.

'Here, here.' Elijah muttered in agreement. We were silent for a few more seconds before I spoke up again.

'At least we know that we'll be able to protect her, no matter what.' I reasoned.

Elijah nodded. 'And, don't forget, she's perfectly capable of looking after herself, too.'

'We're going to be all right, you know.' I said matter-of-factly.

Elijah sighed and met my eyes. I must have my father's eyes- I am the only person in our family, that I know of, who has such striking blue eyes. Everyone else has either vibrant grey or chocolate brown.

He pursed his lips, murmuring wistfully, 'I do hope so.'

**A/N: And I've finally updated! Phew, thank goodness! I know, I'm a horrible person, it's been too long since I updated and I'm becoming far too unreliable! My deepest, most sincere apologies!  
>I get distracted much too easily, especially when it's summer... and I realise I'm not even replying to reviews, gasp! I'll get right down to that.<br>Right, so; today you can depend on me to update once at least every two days and reply to all your wonderful reviews which I'm incredibly grateful for. :) Yay!  
>Thank you, again, for reading and reviewing. And everyone who has favouritedalerted this story, you guys are just as amazing! :D  
>Please let me know what you think of the story so far. Love you guys!<br>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	10. Yellow

**Chapter 10. **

**Elena's POV. **

'Well, I thank you greatly for your hospitality,' I threw a sarcastic look at Damon as I said this. No, the blue-eyed vampire has been anything _but _hospitable for the past half hour. 'But I'm afraid I have to be going.'

'Oh, really? How sad. Shall I play you a song on the world's smallest violin?' Damon smirked at me, rubbing his fingers together in an imitation of a violin.

I rolled my eyes at him. 'No, thank you. Just make sure you're not present the next time I visit, and all will be well.' I smiled sweetly. 'Goodbye.'

I didn't give them any time to speak before I sped out of the room, running down the street toward the Mystic Falls mall. Yes, my two brothers had refilled my closet, but I hardly appreciated their choice in clothing. If anything, a lot of it was rather vulgar- I suppose I must have had different taste in clothing before I became human for a year.

I, unfortunately, had no money with me, but that didn't matter. I could always compel the store workers to give me what I wanted for free. The act would cause me no qualms of conscience.

So, soon enough, I was strolling through the various stores of the Mystic Falls Mall. So far, I had bought- well, stolen, whichever way you wanted to look at it- a pair of designer jeans, a few tank tops in various colours ranging from red to purple to blue to black, a few dresses- some casual, some quite fancy- two pairs of shorts, a black skirt and some colourful blouses in grey, white and black. All in all, I'd done quite well. I had no problem carrying the bags, and after no more than thirty seven minutes I was speeding back to the hotel.

When I arrived, I was greeted by the curious forms of none other than my brothers.

Elijah raised an eyebrow at my numerous shopping bags and Klaus chuckled.

'Have fun, Elena?' Elijah asked.

I smirked. 'Yes. It's a shame you missed out, brother- we all know how you love shopping.' I added with a sarcastic wink.

'Hilarious, dear sister.' he drawled sarcastically.

I grinned. 'I know.'

'Enough of your bickering.' Klaus interrupted, but he too had a huge grin on his face.

I smiled at him.

'Why did you go shopping, sorella?' he asked me, an amused note in his voice.

I shrugged. 'I didn't trust your fashion sense.'

'Why not?' he demanded, frowning.

'Klaus. I only liked overalls and straw hats in the 1900's.' I reprimanded, lightly.

He made a face at me and Elijah rolled his eyes. 'Who's bickering now?'

**Damon's POV. **

I watched with a sigh as Elena sped out of the house, and away from us. Away from _me_. Was it wrong to still have feelings for her, even knowing that she was no longer the girl I had truly fallen in love with?

Probably. But then, when had the right and the wrong ever stopped me?

'And she's gone.' Jeremy stated, a tinge of sadness in his voice. He, too, was staring at the spot from which Elena had just seemingly vanish, and I knew that he was secretly pining for his big sister.

'You know what? I don't think she's changed much at all.' Caroline stated cheerfully, big smile on her face.

I rolled my eyes at her. 'You really are oblivious, aren't you?' I mocked.

Her face fell slightly, but not much. She narrowed her eyes at me challengingly. 'Not as oblivious as you.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' I demanded.

'You think none of us noticed you making puppy dog eyes at her? You're still in love with her.' she accused, practically radiating smugness.

I faltered and couldn't help but glance in Stefan's direction. My little brother's eyes were deliberately diverted and looking anywhere but at me, though I knew that he was hurt by the accusation. I looked back to Caroline and sneered.

'And you think that she can still be your best friend.' I pointed out, smirking in satisfaction when she looked down.

'She can.' she whispered, all cheeriness suddenly gone.

'Enough, you two.' Alaric reprimanded sharply. 'She _has_ changed, Caroline. More than we'd all like. But that doesn't mean she isn't still Elena.' he added, his voice slightly softer and more comforting.

I snorted. Everyone looked at me. I raised a challenging eyebrow, saying, 'What? You really think she's going to turn out to be nothing like Katherine?'

When the others remained silent, I rolled my eyes and groaned, though it pained my somewhat to accuse Elena of stooping to Katherine's level.

'We all know what a selfish bitch Katherine is. Who's to say Elena won't be just like her?'

'She proved today that she won't be.' Jenna said quietly. 'Today she seemed like she still cared about us.'

'Do you think she really does?' Bonnie asked softly.

'I do.' Stefan stated confidently.

'I'm not sure.' Alaric admitted, looking around at us all hastily. 'I mean, sure, she's Elena- but she's not the Elena we all knew. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to trust her.'

'Me neither.' I added firmly.

'I don't think the decisions really down to you.' Bonnie sneered, glaring at me.

'I'm just stating an opinion.' I growled.

'Well, don't.' Caroline said acidly.

'Oh, so you can gush about how great you think she is, but I can't say that I'm not going to trust her?' I asked sarcastically, bitterness in my voice. 'How wonderful. Very fair, Blondie.'

'Will you two just stop?' Stefan shouted finally, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation. 'Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere!'

I got to my feet, giving everyone else an icy glare. 'I don't care how much you all want to trust her. I won't- not until she can prove that she's worth it. Until then, she means about as much to me as Katherine does.' I spat before stalking out of the room angrily, desperate to take my anger out on something that _wouldn't _die after the first punch.

**Elena's POV. **

'That's not funny.' I pouted, crossing my arms, annoyed with my brothers. The very brothers who thought it would be amusing to paint my walls- the walls of a hotel room- a very bright yellow. They knew, of course, how I hated the colour yellow. Honestly, they were worse than Damon and Jeremy in their pranks. It was frustrating, yet somehow endearing at the same time.

Although, the endearing side of it wasn't very clear when you were the victim.

Klaus chuckled. 'It is when it's you who has to put up with it.'

'I can always paint it back.' I pointed out smugly. 'And besides... why the hell did you think it would be funny to paint in a hotel room? One, this is in no way funny. Two, it's not your room to paint. Three, your pranks are becoming more and more awful each day. Four, I am going to get you back for making me go through the trouble of having to paint my walls back to normal from this god-awful shade of yellow. And you do a piss-poor job of painting, too.'

Elijah smirked. 'You're just saying that.'

'I'm telling the truth.' I insisted, smacking him over the back of the head. 'Now get the hell out of my room, you buffoons.'

Klaus mock-saluted me. 'Aye aye, captain.'

I scowled at them both before slowly turning round to look at the yellow wall. How pathetic.

Although the brightness of the yellow was annoying me, and would bother me further until I got it covered up, I decided to ignore it and lay on my bed to contemplate the happenings of today.

Firstly, there was the Annual Lockwood Charity Brunch. That was quite fun, I had to admit. It was amusing to see the faces of my 'friends'- I was still hesitant to call them that- when they saw that I had had the guts to show up. And plus, I had tried, unsuccessfully, to warn them that they should stay away from me. Needless to say, they didn't listen and the three vampires among them foolishly tried to follow me when I left the brunch.

And that led to me tracing them back to the Boarding House, where we were confronted by none other than my long lost brother, Nico. I sighed at the memory. As a child, he had taken pleasure in annoying me, trying to get a rise out of me at every possible opportunity. Yet he had been, and still was, my big brother- back then he had been protective of me, and even tried to act as a human shield for me, trying to protect me from a pack of stray wolves when I was five years old and he was seven. Of course, he was lucky enough to have not been torn apart- no, my mother intervened before that could happen.

Nico then proceeded to warn _me _about some idiot who was trying to come after me. He then left, leaving me to converse with my former friends and allies before I left to shop for new clothes. Then I returned to my hotel to find Mrs Flowers compelled to bring me to my room and not react in any way when seeing my newly-painted wall, which Klaus and Elijah seemed to think was just so funny.

It was not.

I sighed, rolling over onto my side and looking out the window. I did not need to wear lapis lazuli in the sunlight, no- I was an Original vampire, after all- but I still liked the feeling of wearing the special blue stone. It made me feel that, even if, for some reason, I were to become vulnerable in sunlight, I would still be safe with the lovely necklace around my neck. And besides, the necklace I wore, adorned with the stone, around my neck was pretty and a nice accessory.

I think I was lay there on my side, staring out the window, for quite some time. Possibly for half an hour. Myself, I did not need to use special devices or paint other people's walls yellow to amuse myself- I simply needed to lay there and be still, and time would pass just as quickly as it would if I was having the time of my life. It was a gift- I liked to think of it as a gift, anyway. Maybe I was just eternally patient.

… I snorted at the prospect. Me? Patient? Never. In fact, as the years rolled by, I seemed to become more impatient than ever. All I wanted was for the things that needed to be done to be done, and for life to continue on as always. I was impatient for whoever was after me to hurry up and face me, so I could defeat them as easily as I always did and be on my merry way.

I sighed again, smiling slightly. I was fairly confident that, no matter who my enemy was, I would be able to defeat them. I was strong, I had excellent resources and a vast range of skills. Who could possibly defeat me, especially with my powerful brothers on my side? Yes, I would surely win against whoever dared come up against me.

Surely.

**A/N: And there's the chapter, yay!  
>Hope you liked this one, I definitely enjoyed writing it! Though it took me longer to write it than it did other chapter, hmm... oh, well. I think it's a little longer than last time.<br>Thank you for the wonderful reviews, they are amazing! You guys are amazing! I love getting your reviews, so please, feel free to keep them coming. ;)  
>Who's looking forward to Elena's 'old love' coming into the picture? I know I am!<br>I know that I'm taking quite a while to actually bring some drama and action into this story, but I assure you, it's going to come soon enough. Within the next two chapters, I'm fairly sure. If not, you can virtual slap me again. I'll know I have it coming.  
>My hand is aching and sleep is calling, so I have to go! See you all in the morning, bye! :)<br>Love you guys.  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	11. Intuition

**Chapter 11. **

**Elena's POV. **

They were repainting my wall.

I snickered at the sight before me. I had made my two rather idiotic brothers buy some nice, glossy black paint and use it to cover up the hideous yellow paint that my hotel wall was currently covered in. Yes, I could have done it in less than five seconds myself, but the looks on their faces when I asked them to perform the task was hilarious.

'You're wasting our time by making us _repaint your wall_?' Klaus had asked, blinking in disbelief.

I'd nodded solemnly. 'By the time you're done, I expect every inch of that wall to be black.'

Elijah had hesitated before saying, 'But the rest of your room is white.'

'It's cream, actually.' I corrected, smirking. 'And I noticed that, idiot. I don't care. I will have one black wall.'

'That's stupid.' Klaus pointed out.

'That's me.' I countered, then clapped my hands together while wearing the biggest smile on my face. 'Get to work!'

And that's why they were now slowly painting the wall in my room black.

Ah, the joys of taking advantage of your younger siblings.

Of course, they could have been done in five seconds flat. But they were just being awkward- they were being slow on purpose, to waste time, to annoy me further.

Lucky for them, it didn't annoy me much at all.

I sighed, getting to my feet and walking towards the room. As entertaining as Klaus and Elijah's discomfort was, it was getting boring just sitting there, literally watching paint dry.

'Let me know when you're done.' I called over my shoulder, before flinging the door open and shutting it softly behind me, ignoring their bitter comments and sarcastic mumbles.

I headed down to the hotel lobby, curious as to what the noise down there was. It seemed that there was a man down there, arguing with sweet, old Mrs Flowers. I raised an eyebrow as I hopped down the final step of the staircase and watched the scene.

'Please, I just want a room.' the man pleaded, glancing over his shoulder occasionally.

Mrs Flowers shook her head firmly. 'We're all full.' she lied firmly, trying unsuccessfully to shove the man backwards with her weak, wrinkled hands. I knew for a fact that there were several empty rooms available, and my curiosity peeked as I wondered why Mrs Flowers was denying the man access to a room.

'Please, just for one night!'

By now, several onlookers were watching with interest and curiosity.

The man looked familiar, to my confusion. If I had ever met him, I'm sure I would have recognised him. I'm sure of it. But there was no name to his face, just that annoying feeling when you couldn't for the life of you remember who a person was.

He was handsome. He had windswept brown hair, a lightly tanned complexion and the most intelligent amber eyes I had ever seen in a human. At a first glance, I would have thought he was a vampire- but he wasn't. He was just a normal human; one who looked annoyingly familiar. Why on earth couldn't I place him?

He continued to argue with Mrs Flowers about a room, and my curiosity grew even further as I wondered why he so desperately wanted a room. It certainly didn't look as if he couldn't afford it; he was dressed sharply, wearing expensive-looking jeans and a crisp white dress shirt, a nice black jacket thrown casually over his shoulder.

Mrs Flowers finally sighed and gave in. 'Fine- one night.' her pale green eyes narrowed and she wagged a finger warningly in his face. 'But I'm warning you, Mister, step one toe out of line and you're gone!'

The man glanced over his shoulder once more, a nervous expression that quickly melted into relief on his face, before looking back to Mrs Flowers with a smile. 'Thank you, Mrs Flowers. This will be the last time I do this.'

Hmm. How interesting; he'd done this more than once. Unfortunately, this only deepened my confusion. The sun was still bright outside, though the light was dimming. It would soon fade into night, a time I was more comfortable with. Then, _then _I could investigate this man. It wouldn't be hard to sneak into his room, steal some stray DNA and find a place where I could scan it without being traced. Simple enough.

All in a night's work.

I smiled triumphantly to myself as I thought over my plan once more, watching out of the corner of my eye as the mystery man gave Mrs Flowers more thanks as she checked him in. No name, unfortunately- she knew him already. Damn. No matter.

I turned on my heel, entertained for the time being, and ran back up the stairs to tell my brothers about the interesting new man. They wouldn't mind my plan, they may even help.

Unless they'd done something as stupid as their last prank. Then there was no way I would let them accompany me.

**Damon's POV. **

'No, my drink is free of charge.' I said defiantly, looking the man in the eye and using my power of mind compulsion to convince him that my many, many drinks were free.

He nodded dazedly and handed me another glass of scotch. I downed it quickly, still holding onto the hope that all those worrisome thoughts about the 'new' Elena would go down with the alcohol that rushed down my throat, leaving a tingly burning sensation as it went.

How could I have been stupid enough to think, even for one second, that we could trust her? Just because she told us a nice little bedtime story? I briefly wondered how much of her tale was true- all of it? None of it?

All I knew was that I wouldn't be finding out any time soon- this would be one of those things that I would avoid in typical Damon fashion until it finally went away and left me alone.

But something- a nagging little voice at the back of my head- was telling me that it wouldn't be that simple. That Elena Petrova wouldn't go away without a fight.

I knew for sure that I wasn't willing to give her one.

**Elena's POV. **

'So, will you come with me?' I asked hopefully after explaining what I was going to do.

'Of course, sorella.' Klaus said graciously. 'But first, do tell; why are you so interested anyway?'

I shrugged, letting out a frustrated sigh. 'I have no idea. Something just tells me I need to know.'

'Your intuition again?' Elijah asked, smirking slightly.

I scowled at him. 'Yes, my intuition.'

Klaus chuckled. 'Well, if there's one thing we know, it's to trust your intuition. Right, Elena?'

'Right.' I beamed at my now-favourite brother and shot Elijah a snarky look. He was constantly bothering me about my excellent intuition, telling me that it must make me psychic- among other things. Despite popular belief amongst our family, Elijah was always the more crude and insulting brother, as well as being the most level-headed.

'I can sneak into his room later one, while he's asleep or something. Then all we need to do is find a computer- preferably one with the correct functions and no dust covering it- and let technology do its thing.' I smiled. 'Sound like a plan?'

Klaus shook his head, amused. 'Sounds like a plan.' he paused, before adding. 'I suppose we should all just stalk random strangers now- follow our dear sorella's lead?'

I smacked him on the arm, sticking my tongue out. '_Intuition, _my dear little brother, intuition.' I glanced at the wall with a sly smile, waggling my eyebrows. 'And nice job on my wall, too.'

He sighed. 'Elijah here almost painted the whole room.'

I chuckled. 'I wouldn't have objected.'

'_See_?' Elijah said pointedly to Klaus before flopping onto my bed and lying back with his hands behind his head.

I smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. 'Don't you have your own bed, in your own hotel room?' I paused, tilting my head to the side thoughtfully. 'In fact, don't you have your own wall to paint yellow?'

Elijah made a face. 'Why would I want to paint my own wall _that _colour? It's horrible.'

I rolled my eyes. 'So, of course, you just have to make your poor older sister a victim of your cruel and vicious pranks.'

He paused, before grinning and answering, 'Yes, that would just about sum up my thought process.'

I scowled and picked a cushion from the luxurious sofa beside me, chucking it at his head. If he hadn't been a vampire, I probably would have took his head off.

'Play nicely, you two.' Klaus scolded playfully, wagging his finger at us in the same way that Mrs Flowers had to the Mystery Man- Mystery Man being what I had decided to call him until I could find out his real identity.

'Nicely? Me?' I asked innocently, then snorted. 'Not a chance.'

**A/N: This chapter is many things: Extremely late, very short, and rather terrible being the main things.  
>I'm sorry! I did write the chapter earlier, but it 'mysteriously' deleted itself from my computer. So I had to start it again. Sorry!<br>But, I hope you liked it anyway. Not my best. And, has anyone got any thoughts on who Mystery Man might be? ;D  
>Thank you for the amazing reviews and whatnot, they make me so happy that I flap my arms about like a bird and make me think that I can fly, only to be proved wrong later when I try to jump down a flight of stairs! :D<br>Keep on reviewing if you want to see me fall down more stairs. ;)  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	12. DNA

**Chapter 12. **

**Klaus' POV. **

Why my older sister was so fascinated by this human, I did not know.

All I knew was that she was beyond interested, and something was telling her that checking him out like this was a good idea. And I, being the wonderful brother that I was, fully supported her.

Which was why Elena, Elijah and myself were currently sneaking out in the dark, chilled night to investigate a silly little human's DNA.

I shook my head, letting a sigh escape my lips. My sister and her insane plans. Someday, I am sure they will get the three of us killed.

Elena looked at me, raising a challenging eyebrow. 'Problem, Klaus?'

I smiled sweetly. 'Not at all, dear sorella.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Now, where should we go? I'm quite sure the library will _not _be a good option, even though I _am _in the mood for a little bit of breaking and entering.' she tapped a thoughtful finger against her chin, turning her eyes to the cloudless sky. 'So I wonder...?'

Her eyes then flickered over to me and I paused, wondering. I didn't know Mystic Falls all that well. I certainly didn't know a place where...

Wait.

'The police station.' I answered simply, giving a nonchalant shrug.

A grin slowly formed on her lips. 'Excellent idea, my dear brother. We simply go in, compel-slash-kill all the guards and officers, and hack their computers.' she smiled at me. 'Way to go. You used your brain, for once.'

I chuckled at my sister, and glanced at Elijah. 'Are you okay with this?'

His brow furrowed at that, but he smirked none the less. 'Perfectly fine with it.'

'Why did you ask him that?' Elena asked me, amusement in her voice.

I shrugged. In truth, I wasn't too sure as to why I had asked- just seemed like the moment. 'I apologize for taking my brother's feelings into consideration, Elena.' I smirked. 'Won't happen again.'

They both smacked me in the arm at the same time, making me burst out in loud laughter. They soon joined me, and we walked- at human pace- the remaining distance to the police station in laughter.

It was the first time we'd done something like this in... a while.

**Elena's POV. **

****Flashback****

_I was silent as I crept into Mystery Man's room. He was asleep, I could tell. I paused for a moment as I gazed down at his sleeping face- he was handsome, I couldn't deny that. But there was something else about him... I let out a quiet grunt of annoyance as my earlier frustration returned. Who was this man? _

_I was relieved that I was about to find out. _

_His eyes were shut, his breathing steady- he was dreaming of peaceful dreams, that was good. I carefully moved my hand closer to his head and quickly plucked a dark brown hair from his head. He didn't stir. Thank goodness. _

_I would not lose the hair, I knew that much- I never lost my evidence. Keeping hold of the lone hair that was about the size of my little finger- the man's hair was messy and went just past his ears- I hesitantly moved my other hand forward and let it rest against his cheek. He shifted slightly in his sleep, but otherwise, there was no sign of him waking. _

_I couldn't place where I knew this man from, or even why I recognised him. But I knew one thing for sure- he was going to be very, very important to me, to my life. _

_That didn't alarm me as much as it should have. _

****End Flashback** **

I sighed, thinking back on the memory. It was all just too confusing, and I didn't like being confused. It made me feel helpless, a feeling I detested.

I shook the thoughts off and focused on the task at hand- there was no point getting distracted right now. If anything, it would only complicate things more than was necessary.

'I'll pick the lock. There are seven officers inside, on the night shift. Try not to kill anyone, you two- I'd rather not be on the morning news tomorrow.' I murmured dryly, taking the large lock in between my fingers and squeezing lightly, crushing it. We were now able to go inside without breaking any windows. Despite popular belief, we vampires liked to be discreet, and being discreet meant drawing as little attention as possible.

'It's been too long since we've been able to do this.' Elijah grinned, before moving swiftly inside, using his handy vampire speed. Klaus followed, and I paused, standing outside for a moment. I heard several loud _crack! _noises and smiled. My brothers had just taken out the necessary amount of guards with a substantial amount of pressure to the head- though they didn't kill them. The officers were simply stunned; they would be unconscious for a long time, and not remember a thing when they awoke.

I walked slowly inside, smirking at Klaus and Elijah, who were now hurriedly typing into a computer. Hacking.

I rolled my eyes. 'Do hurry up. I would like to get a few hours of sleep when we're done.'

They hurried, and soon enough we were scanning the DNA data that I still held in my hand. **(A/N: Okay, seriously, I have no idea how any of that works- let's just assume they did the normal stuff.) **

I raised an eyebrow at the results that showed up on screen.

'So, his name is Joel?' I muttered, scanning each line.

His name was Joel Wesson. He was 23 years old and had lived in Colorado for 17 year in his life, before he moved to Mystic Falls, where he stayed. I frowned. Funny, I'd never seen him around... I sighed, shrugging it off and reading on. He never had money troubles... until a mysterious incident around the Christmas of 2010, when all his accounts were suddenly drained of money. Hmm, interesting- this man _was_ a mystery.

'Joel Wesson.' I tasted the name once more on my tongue, memorising it. It was a rather unremarkable name; nothing you'd expect much from. But I liked the way it sounded, liked the way it rolled off my tongue. I smiled to myself as I hurriedly closed the files, shut the computer off and got to my feet, looking between my brothers.

Yes, I would be watching Joel Wesson _very _closely from now on.

**Elijah's POV. **

'All done?' I asked, glancing hastily at the unconscious bodies of police officers scattered at our feet.

'All done.' Elena confirmed, gesturing for us to follow her as she sped out of the building.

'So, what do you think of _that _information?' Elena asked me and Klaus as we slowed our pace to human, walking along the pavement.

I shrugged. 'Interesting... kind of. I'm still not sure why you're so interested, but I suppose it's your... life.' I smirked.

She rolled her eyes. 'Ever so supportive.' she turned her gaze to Klaus. 'And you?'

He smiled darkly. 'No comment.'

Elena grinned at us both, closing her eyes in satisfaction for a moment. 'You know, I don't think I've told you two how grateful I am that you gave me my memories back.' she gave us both a stern glance. 'Though that doesn't mean I'm grateful that you took my memories in the first place.'

I grinned. 'You're welcome, my dear sister.'

Elena laughed her tinkling laugh as she tilted her head up to the sky, her expression one of amazement. 'It's starting to rain.' she observed.

And so it was. A heavy droplet fell on my head and I smiled softly. I liked the rain; it was always nice to be in the rain.

'It is.' Klaus said, and then the sparse droplets started to quicken and get heavier, so, soon enough, the rain was heavy. The three of us were soaked; we looked as if we had been simply swimming, and not knocking out police officers so we could hack their computers to trace DNA.

Elena giggled and shook her head from side to side. I winced and jumped away as her head shook at vampire speed, more water flying everywhere. She stopped suddenly and laughed; for a moment, before the rain flattened it again, her hair was a mass of wild, damp curls.

'I love the rain.' she said wistfully, before kicking her foot in a puddle and splashing Klaus. I shook my head, amused at my older sister's childish games. She really was still an innocent child at heart, no matter what terrible things she did.

Soon enough, the three of us were chasing each other at vampire speed in the rain, splashing each other and rolling on the ground, simply having fun, being the three remaining Petrova siblings who always stuck together like glue.

It was fun. It was always fun.

**Klaus' POV. **

Elena froze suddenly, her hands still poised and about to flick water in my face. That's when I caught the scent; a human. Here. Automatically, the three of our heads whipped round in the direction of the sight, and I sighed when I saw the human man who was watching the three of us with wide eyes. I knew what he was seeing; three extraordinarily beautiful people, rolling around in the water, playing, at a speed that he never thoughts possible.

They all thought the same thing when they saw us.

I made a move to jump up and make him forget- or kill him, whichever came first- when Elena put a hand on my arm to stop me. She gave me a look that said, _trust me_. And so I did.

She got to her feet slowly, walking steadily to the man, who seemed to be frozen in place. He started at her, his eyes widening.

Elena gave him a coy smile, waiting a few seconds, before... oh, damn. She let her face change, hissing at the man as her vampire form came through. As hilarious as his terrified face was, I wasn't laughing. Did Elena seriously just do something that could expose us? Surely she would compel him now...

But she didn't. For some reason, my sister didn't make the man forget. He let out a frightened yelp. Elena looked into his eyes, compelling him, and murmured '_Run_' in an admittedly scary voice.

The man ran, and so did we. We ran back to our hotel, not looking back. And then, when we got to my sister's hotel room, I snapped.

**Elena's POV. **

I smiled sheepishly at Klaus. 'At least I didn't get us killed.'

He snorted. 'Elena, that's not the point. You nearly _exposed _yourself, the whole vampire race!'

I sighed, mumbling under my breath, 'You make it sound like I got naked or something. And besides, brother, you're overreacting- he's just a guy. He's not going to say anything, he'll either think it was a bad dream, or think he's gone crazy.'

'But what if he _does _say something?'

I sighed exasperatedly, throwing my hands in the air. 'How many people do you think would actually believe him? They'll think he's crazy! Why the hell are you making such a big deal out of this?' I demanded, tapping my foot impatiently, glaring up at him. He may be taller than me, but my strength and speed more than made up for my slight stature.

Klaus glared at me for a moment before turning to Elijah, who was watching us with a raised eyebrow and a grimace. We both looked at him expectantly, waiting for his input.

He sighed. 'Well, thank you, for taking a good five seconds out of my life.'

'You have the whole of eternity to make up for it.'

'Unless I die sometime this week.'

'How likely is that to happen?'

He hesitated, then grinned widely, showing his pointy canines. 'Practically impossible.'

I smiled brightly. 'See? No issues with an eternity.' my smile dropped. 'Now get out of my room.'

'You don't want some company?' Elijah asked, smirking. 'After all, you _did _just scare some random guy half to death. Be alone for long enough, the guilt of that act might catch up to you.' he added teasingly.

I pretended to contemplate. 'Nope. I'm fine on my own.'

They exchanged a look. Elijah sighed. Klaus sat on the end of my bed. They both looked at me with a mix of emotions that I wasn't too fond of: sadness, slight fear, and, worst of all... pity. _Pity_.

'Don't think that we're doubting your strength, sorella...' Klaus began. 'But we think it would be wise for you to be protected from now on.'

My eyebrows practically flew to my hairline. 'Excuse me?'

'You heard us perfectly.' Elijah said.

I glowered at them both. 'Are you saying that _you _would be able to protect _me_? In case you're forgetting, I'm more than capable of taking care of myself, as well as you two! And it's not just me you should even be worried about! I'm sure you two are in just as much danger as I!' my voice was raised to a shout by the end of my rant.

'We were just saying.' Elijah said hastily. 'Do you really think it's smart to be on your own? What if someone who has equal power to you- one of your siblings, for example- comes after you while you're alone, takes you by surprise?'

'That will not happen.' I said darkly. 'I am never surprised.'

'You say that now.' Klaus said. 'But what if it happens?'

'That's my point!' I argued. 'It _won't_!'

'We're just looking out for your well-being, sorella.' Klaus muttered, getting to his feet.

I snorted, tilting my chin up indignantly like a child. 'Well, don't.' I said coldly. 'Let me worry about that. Now get out of my room.'

**Stefan's POV. **

'Aaand, he's gone.' Jeremy muttered under his breath as Damon ran out of the room.

I shot him a look, and he averted his gaze quickly, shuffling closer to Bonnie and placing a hand on her arm.

'Damon... he's just confused.' I explained apologetically. 'He's upset, for obvious reasons. Give him time, he'll cool off.'

Jenna smiled at me, but there was worry hidden behind her smile. 'It's Damon. He'll be fine.'

'Are _you _all okay?' I asked.

'I agree with him, you know.' Alaric said quietly. 'What makes you think we should trust her? The fact that she used to be Elena? She's not Elena any more, I don't think any of you realise that. She's about as trustworthy as Klaus and Elijah.'

I frowned. Okay, he had a point. But... I couldn't quite consider the possibility that Elena was just another Katherine. Not her.

But... she's not just another Katherine. If anything, Katherine is just another her... it was all so confusing. My head spun as I tried to get my head around it all.

'And are you all forgetting how little we chose to trust Klaus and Elijah?' Alaric finished, louder now, looking around at us all.

'He has a point.' Bonnie muttered.

'But... she's Elena.' Caroline insisted, cocking her head to the side confusedly.

'But she's not Elena Gilbert.' Alaric said sadly.

'She's made it pretty clear that she's concerned about, you know, us. Our well-being, our safety...' I argued.

'Because she was telling us to stay away?' Alaric frowned. 'Maybe she was saying that because she just didn't want us any more.'

'She explained fully just _why _she wanted us to stay away. Are you forgetting that?' Jeremy asked, getting to his feet and looking faintly angry.

'Everyone just calm down.' I said, looking at them all.

'What's the verdict?' Bonnie asked. 'Trust her or not?'

Caroline snorted. '_Verdict_? What the hell do you mean, _verdict_? I don't know about you guys, but I trust her. That's my opinion, and that's final.' she said stubbornly, tossing her blonde tresses over her shoulder.

I shrugged, resisting the urge to smile widely. 'I agree with Caroline.'

Good old Caroline.

**A/N: So! What do ya think? Okay?  
>It was long, that's for sure- you can't complain that it's short, can you? 5 pages and 2699 words, I think it's a pretty long chapter. O;)<br>But is it any good? I think it's kind of dragged out. I was tired when I wrote this, so I understand if it's not any good. :(  
>But please review, since I hope you enjoyed! I love all your reviews, and you know that. So... yeah. Feel free to hit the review button.<br>Love you guys!  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	13. Joel?

**Chapter 13. **

**Elena's POV. **

How dare they? How dare they suggest that I am weak, that I am not capable of taking care of myself?

I was overreacting, I knew that, but I didn't care. I glared at the wall beside me in frustration and realized that a little sleep would calm me down. I didn't necessarily need it, but it was always nice to sleep.

So, moving quickly, I stripped off my clothes and carelessly threw them in the closet before pulling on a pair of blue cotton boxer shorts and a white tank top. It was similar to what Elena Gilber would have worn for bed...

I sighed and shook my head to myself, climbing into bed and staring up at the ceiling for a while as I comtemplated my situation.

Again.

Joel Wesson was the man- the simple, quite unremarkable human man- who was driving me crazy. Why was he so familiar? Why didn't I know who he was? Why did I somehow recognise him? Why, why, why?

It annoyed me to no end that I had the answers to none of my own questions.

But, still. At least I had his identity, and his information, and his room number. I smiled to myself, already thinking up another plan. It would be very easy to seduce him into giving me more information.

And as I thought of the day ahead, what it might bring, I in no way considered that everything would change drastically. I had no idea...

The next morning, I awoke at the crack of dawn. I hadn't needed to sleep so long, and I hadn't meant to- I suppose my mind had just relaxed too much to notice the time.

Sighing, I threw off the covers and leaped out of my bed, opening my closet to decide on what I should wear for the day.

I quickly decided on a tight white t-shirt and a pair of stylish denim overalls. It was a simple concoction, but I looked as good as ever. Another perk to being a vampire.

'Klaus.' I whispered, knowing they were both awake and could both hear me, 'Elijah. Meet me downstairs for breakfast, now.'

'Will do.' I heard Elijah's reply, followed by Klaus' quick agreement.

I hurried downstairs and to the dining hall, eyeing the breakfast bar in distaste. Oh, how I longed for the sweet taste down my throat, even if I wasn't hungry...

I shook thoughts of blood and killing out of my mind, instead picking up a piece of nicely-done toast, so as to keep up a human appearance. I took a careless bite out of it and took a seat on a wooden chair, crossing my legs neatly as I saw my brothers approaching the table.

I nodded curtly to each of them. I was still angry at them, for the pathetic reason that I was given.

'Good morning, sorella.' Klaus said. He either didn't notice my bad mood, or was ignoring it completely.

Elijah, on the other hand, looked at me wearily, like I was a bomb that could explode if they pressed the wrong button.

My wide little brother.

'Klaus. Elijah. Please, take a seat.' I said, gesturing towards the two empty wooden chairs. They exchanged a glance and sat down. Klaus drummed his fingers against the table and I rolled my eyes at his childishness.

'Please stop that.' I snapped.

He frowned at me. 'Surely you're not _still _angry with us?'

'It was only last night. And yes, I am. I'm furious that you think I need to be... _protected_.' I spat.

Elijah sighed. 'You're making too big a deal out of this. We were only thinking of what is best for you.'

'How about, in future, you don't?' I suggested.

'Cut it out, Elena.' Klaus said sharply.

I turned my glare to him. 'No.' I said stubbornly, crossing my arms over my chest. He rolled his eyes.

'Truce?' he offered, his mouth a hard line and his eyes showing the disapproval he felt having to use this tactic.

I shrugged, refusing his offered hand.

He raised an eyebrow and sighed. 'Fine. You're angry with us, great- what do you want?'

'I'm going to befriend Joel Wesson.' I smiled slightly.

Elijah stared at me. 'You're still going on about _that_? What's so special about him?'

I shook my head, saying nothing.

'Have fun with that.' Klaus said dryly.

I shot him an annoyed look, which he returned. We stared angrily at each other for a few seconds before I felt my resolve start to crack. Only Klaus would ever be able to do that.

'Fine.' I whispered. 'Truce.'

**Klaus' POV. **

Later that day, Elena, Elijah and myself had split up. Elena was off with her little pretty boy, Elijah was getting a 'snack', and I was left alone, bored out of my mind.

Of course, I wasn't _really _bored. I was a vampire. I could sit in a cave for six months, with nothing to eat but bat blood, and be perfectly content- I would know. But I didn't enjoy feeling _content_. I wanted to feel happy and entertained.

So I sighed in frustration and paced my room again, wondering how I could entertain myself in a way that wouldn't result in me fixing something of Elena's that I may or may not have damaged in my fit of boredom.

Then I smiled to myself. Of course.

**Damon's POV. **

'So then they told me I needed to work harder! Actually work _harder_!' Andie Star ranted like what she was talking about was the most important thing in the world. Seriously, I didn't even have any idea what the attractive newswoman was talking about- I hadn't been listening. All I'd needed was a distraction...

'Andie.' I finally said sharply, turning and looking her in the eye. Compelling her. 'Shut up.'

She stopped talking instantly and blinked before giving me another huge smile. She couldn't speak, of course, because of my compulsion.

But her face said it all. She didn't mind not talking, no, not at all... as long as our mouths were occupied with other things.

I inwardly rolled my eyes. Kissing people was perfectly fine with me, as was biting and... other things.

But Andie wasn't the woman I wanted to kiss. I wanted to be kissing and biting _Elena_... but I couldn't, of course. I don't know why I ever, for even one moment, deluded myself into thinking that I could. She would never be mine. Elena Gilbert was Stefan's human girlfriend, and Elena Petrova was her own woman. Vampire. Whatever.

**Elena's POV. **

'Mr Wesson?' I called, smirking inwardly when Joel turned around. His eyes widened slightly when he saw me, but he recovered quickly and flashed me a charming smile. I could tell already that he was a ladies man.

'That's me.' he said.

'Hi. Is this yours? It fell out of your pocket.' I smiled warmly, proceeding to hold out a scrap of paper that had fallen out of his coat pocket. He frowned at it for a moment before smiling again and taking it from my hands. The paper had been nothing more than a piece of paper with his name and a phone number on it, presumably his- no doubt he intended to give it to one of his latest catches.

'Thanks.' he said. 'I must have dropped it.'

I nodded. 'It's all right.' I smiled. 'My apologies for peeking, Joel.'

He laughed. 'You know my name... it's only fair, then, if I learn _your _name.' he winked.

I let out a light laugh. 'You're right, that is only fair.' I grinned. 'My name's Elena- Elena Petrova.'

There was no harm in giving him my full name, right?

'A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.' he complimented, making me smile.

'Oh, you're too kind.' I smiled serenely, and, as I desired, he was momentarily lost for words. Dazzled by my beauty, blah blah blah, I'd seen and heard it all before.

'W-well... I suppose I'd better be going, then...' he muttered, backing away slightly, staring at me.

I put a hand on his arm. 'Oh,, nonsense1 Why don't you come back to my hotel with me? We can talk more.'

I didn't care that I was coming on too strong. At that one touch, my hand on his arm, the only thing I wanted was to talk more with Joel Wesson. And that was exactly what I was going to do.

I laughed loudly at Joel's joke. He was funny. He was also charming and very alluring. We were in my hotel room, sat on my bed because it was the only seating available, and having a very nice time engaging in jokes and conversation.

That is, until a very rude, very unwanted interruption came in the form of a pretty female witch with curly red hair and intelligent green eyes. She was about sixteen years old- it was a good thing I had no problem with harming young people when it was necessary.

Joel cried out in confusion and I leapt to my feet, growling at her.

She ignored me and made a start towards Joel, only to be knocked back by me and pressed against the wall, my hand tightly around her neck.

'What are you doing here?' I growled to the witch, pressing into her neck harder when she only smirked. My glare was menacing and enough to reduce even the strongest man to tears.

'Okay, fine, I'll tell you.' she gasped, struggling to form words under my suddenly vice-like grip. I loosened my hold slightly, giving her space to breathe and talk.

She glared at me. 'I was told about the spell that was performed on you, one year ago. It gave me an idea... I needed to protect Joel. He was, and still is, my best friend.'

I raised an eyebrow at that, but let it go, remaining silent so the witch could continue.

'He was a vampire, you see, and because of _you_,' she spat the word, 'there were people after him. Vampires, powerful vampires... powerful like you. So I performed the same spell on him that I used on him.'

I suppressed a surprised gasp. So... Joel- was Joel even his name?- Joel _was _a vampire, only bewitched into a human? Surprising. But how did I know him?

'Continue.' I said, my voice as calm as ever.

'He became, as promised, a human, for all intents and purposes. He didn't remember anything except a human life in which he lost all his money to a pathetic gamble with a friend. It's been one year since I did that spell, and now I'm here to take it away. Now let go of me, before he dies.' she hissed, and I hesitated for only a moment before releasing my hold altogether.

'Fix him.' I ordered in the coldest voice I could muster, and she wasted no time in kneeling down next to him and chanting words that I remembered vaguely from my own vampire-restoring process.

I was more than very surprised at the revelations I had just heard. Would getting his identity back mean that I would recognise Joel, too? Would I even want to? And why were people trying to kill him for his relation to me? Was...

I froze in shock as the process finished and Joel's body went still. Slowly, oh so slowly, he raised his head and looked straight at me.

'Elena.' he whispered.

And it was at that moment when I remembered. It all clicked.

Kneeling right there before me was the man that I had once fallen in love with. Kneeling right there before me was Marcus Seneca... my old lost love.

**A/N: Can you say cliffhanger? ;) Don't worry if you're confused, all will be revealed in the next chapter... which shall hopefully come soon.  
><strong>**I am ****so**** sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I'm so awful!  
>There is a formal apology and explanation on my profile, but if you haven't seen it, it basically tells you how there has been a problem with my LibreOffice that I have been unable to fix until now. Thank you for being patient and bearing with me, it means a lot!<br>Anyway, moving on to... less apologetic subjects. Thank you for reading! And reviewing! And favouriting, and alerting! I'm so grateful that you guys like the story, it means a lot. :)  
>Love you guys, promise to update soon!<br>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	14. Girlfriend

**Chapter 14. **

**Elena's POV. **

I stared at him.

'It.. it can't be...' I whispered. '_No_.'

'Elena.' he murmured, giving me a smile.

'You're dead.' I said. 'I watched you die, right in front of me.'

He shook his head sadly. 'You gave me your blood a few nights earlier. I remember... I remember so well.'

****Flashback****

_(Elena's POV)_

_'What happened?' I asked urgently. It was the year 1298 A.D, and the man I loved had just returned from a visit to the local Italian village injured and possibly dying. Alarm laced in my voice as I held my Marcus in my arms. His tunic was soaked in blood and his bare arms were caked with mud. There was a gaping wound in his stomach, and I could tell that it was my fault that it was there. _

_I didn't wait for his answer; instead, I bit deeply into my wrist and pressed the cut to his mouth, letting my healing blood flow into it. _

_'Sorella! What are you doing?' I heard a cry from Klaus somewhere behind me. I ignored himand instead healed Marcus. His eyes widened tried to squirm out of my grasp and away from my bleeding wrist- he did not yet know what I was. _

_Of course, he would obviously find out now. _

_'Stop.' Klaus' voice came softer from beside me. _

_I gave him a pleading glance, but pulled my wrist away anyway, hoping to god that I had given him enough to heal him. _

_'He will heal.' Klaus assured me calmly. _

_Marcus, on the other hand, was not so calm. He gasped when I pulled my wrist away and tried to scramble away from me. It wasn't very successful, considering that we were in a cramped room in my home, and he already had his back to the wall. _

_'Please calm down.' I begged him, moving closer to him. _

_'What was _that_?' he demanded, fear etched into his voice. My wrist had healed. His eyes were on it, and they were filled with confusion. _

_'You had to drink my blood, Marcus.' I told him softly. 'It healed you, did it not?' _

_He stared at me for a few more seconds before lifting the hem of his tunic and staring at the smooth, unmarred flesh underneath it in amazement. _

_'How... how did you do that?' he asked. _

_'I'm a vampire.' I explained simply. _

_He looked at me. 'Excuse me?' _

_'I am a vampire.' I repeated slowly. _

_'Are you sure you want to-' _

_I cut Klaus off. 'What else can I do?' _

_'Influence him to forget what just happened. Walk away from his life.' he suggested, looking me in the eye. Blue on brown. _

_I hesitated and shook my head. No, I was too selfish to walk away from Marcus. I loved him; I would always love him. 'I will not do that.' _

_Klaus sighed. 'It is your choice.' _

_'You are a demon!' Marcus shouted, trying, once again, to crawl away. _

_'Hush!' I said, rushing toward him and placing a hand gently on his mouth. 'Hush.' _

_He stared at me with wide eyes. _

_There had been rumours going around town, as of late. People were trying to make sense of why __bodies had been found drained of blood. Of course, they had gone to what they considered the most rational explanation, and considered it to be the work of vampires, of demons. _

_If only they knew how accurate they really were. _

_No one had suspected us, of course- me, Klaus and Elijah were very careful to cover our tracks after we fed. _

_'Please don't be afraid of me.' I whispered to him. 'It's me. Nothing has changed- I am still me. I am Elena.' _

_He shook his head, staring at me. 'Demon.' _

_I sighed and looked back at Klaus. 'This is getting me nowhere. Can you calm him down?' _

_He blinked. 'And why would I be able to do that?' he asked me. _

_I shrugged. 'You don't have morals- therefore you wouldn't feel guilty about influencing his mind.' _

_He nodded in understanding. 'I see. Move aside.' _

_'Wait!' I said urgently. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and I bit my lip lightly, not something I did often. 'I don't want him to forget me. Just... please, just make him unafraid. I don't want him to be afraid.' I said softly. _

_'It shall be done.' Klaus promised, and proceeded to look into Marcus' eyes and make him unafraid, just like I asked. _

_And all was well. _

****End Flashback** **

I frowned at him. 'But that couldn't have been enough to bring you back as a vampire. No way.'

He shrugged. 'I don't know, it's not like either of us measured it. Maybe you gave me more than you actually planned to.'

I hissed. 'I do not make mistakes.'

He jumped up to his feet, hands raised defensively in the air and a smirk on his face. 'Easy, easy.' he smiled at me. 'It _is _nice to see you again- after eight hundred years.'

I nodded slowly. 'Although it probably could have been under better circumstances. The years have been good to you.'

'And to you.'

And then that was it. I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him, pulling Marcus into a hug. It was extremely uncharacteristic and not something I would normally do, but, under the circumstances, I'm sure an exception could be made.

'I missed you.' I murmured, this being one of those rare moments when I let my emotions show. We were completely ignoring the red-haired witch who watched our exchange with pursed lips and a raised eyebrow.

Then I pulled back and slapped him across the face. Hard.

His head snapped to the left and he stepped back in surprise, and I'm quite sure I broke his nose, but he looked otherwise unaffected.

'Ow.' he muttered as the broken bones in his nose knitted back together.

'_That_ was for making me think that you were dead for eight hundred years.' I growled.

He looked at me. 'You haven't changed a bit, have you?'

'I never do.' I said, sighing. It was very overwhelming, seeing Marcus after so long... 'Hold on. Why didn't I recognise you when I first saw you, or when I brought you back to my hotel?'

He shrugged, then looked at the witch, obviously looking for an answer.

She rolled her eyes. 'That was my doing. I made the spell more intense- anyone who knew him before it would not recognise him while he was under the spell.' she glared at me when she was finished, and I briefly wondered why she seemed to dislike me so much.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that not two minutes ago I had her pressed against the wall with my hand tight around her throat.

I gave her a falsely sweet smile and turned back to Marcus. 'So you came back as a vampire after that night?'

He nodded. 'I did. I have to say, I was rather confused when I woke up alone and with an undeniable thirst for human blood.'

I faltered. 'I suppose it would have been quite an estranging experience for anyone.'

****Flashback****

_(Elena's POV) _

_'No!' I screamed. 'Stop! Please stop!' _

_I tried, once again, to rush towards my dying Marcus, but was held back by both Elijah and Klaus. _

_'Let go of me.' I spat, struggling to wrench my arms free of their firm hold, but I suppose my uncoordinated struggles are what made it so easy for them to keep hold of me. _

_'Let him die, Elena.' Elijah whispered. 'You can't save him- it's too late.' _

_I let a sob escape my lips. _

_Klaus and Elijah had warned me of this- they had warned me not to get too close to a human, to not fall in love with one. But I was stupid, and I chose to fall in love anyway, and now I had to face the consequences of my actions and watch as Marcus was engulfed in flames. _

_I'm sure I heard him cry out my name. _

_'My blood.' I remembered. 'My blood, I gave him my blood-' _

_'Two nights ago. It can't have lasted this long, sorella, and for that I am sorry. This is painful, I know, but you have to let go.' Klaus said, and I swear, this was the first time I had heard his voice so sad since he killed our family. _

_There was a part of me that wanted to laugh and say, _But _you're _the one holding onto me_, but I found that I just wasn't in the mood for silly humour. I had a feeling that I wouldn't be in the mood for humour for quite a while, not after this. _

_'Who did this?' I asked, my voice quiet with rage. _

_They both exchanged a look over my head. I kept my eyes forward, unable to look away as the flames danced around Marcus. He was already dead, that much I knew. I hated the smell of burning flesh that filled the room. _

_'Put him out.' I whispered. 'Please, just put him out.' _

_I didn't understand why I hadn't been allowed to just save him. Why I couldn't throw water over his head and take out his slightly charred body. _

_Of course, he'd already been burning when I'd ran into the room. Somebody, I had no idea who, had doused him in a flammable liquid while the three of us had been out, and thrown a match onto his head. _

_It had taken him ten minutes to die. _

_'Put him out _now_!' I shouted, trying, and finally succeeding, in wrenching my arm out of their grasp. I wasted no time in grabbing a large bucket, filling it with water and throwing it over his head. _

_The flames dies out under the cold water and I could do nothing but hold Marcus' corpse in my arms. _

_We left Italy seven minutes later. _

****End Flashback****

'How has... how has life been?' I asked. I liked how our conversation so far had been mostly normal.

He gave the witch a hasty glance, then looked back to me. 'It's been... okay. Though you can't really call it life.'

'No.' I agreed. 'You can't.' I gestured to the witch. 'Who's she?'

He hesitated, then took a deep breath and spoke with confidence. 'This is Jenny. She's my girlfriend.'

**Damon's POV. **

I glanced down at my buzzing phone, rolling my eyes at the caller ID. I answered it after letting it ring four times.

'Yes?' my voice was dripping with false sweetness.

I heard Alaric's sigh. 'Damon, you should get back to the boarding house. Everyone else is leaving.'

I hesitated. 'Is Stefan?'

'It's his home. I'm pretty sure he's staying.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Then I'll probably just stay here... at the grill, with my girlfriend.'

I smirked at the disbelief in Alaric's voice when he spoke. 'Your... your _girlfriend_?' a pause. 'Damon...'

'What?' I asked, flashing Andie a smile, which she returned.

'You and girlfriend in the same sentence... it doesn't happen. Do _not _kill her.'

'I'm not gonna kill her!' I said defensively, clutching Andie closer. My arm was around her waist.

'Kill me?' she mouthed to me, her brow furrowed.

'I'll explain that part later, sweetie.' I replied, and I watched in satisfaction as the confusion flitted across her face.

'Anyway, why do you want me back at the boarding house? Any surprise attacks from Elena and her two bodyguards?'

'Nope. But everyone's decided to trust her for now, and if she does even one little thing wrong, then we can do whatever the hell we need to do.'

I snorted. 'Like it'll be that easy.'

'That's what I said.'

I paused, and a lazy smile slowly stretched across my face. 'You _really _don't want to trust her, do you?'

'I'm not one to trust easily.'

'One thing you and me have in common.'

He groaned. 'I don't want to have anything in common with you, Damon. You're an ass.'

I smirked. 'But I'm a _cool _ass. Admit it, you've never met anyone as brilliant as me.'

He hesitated. 'I can't say I've met many brilliant people.'

I sighed. 'Isobel was one of them, wasn't she?'

'Yep.'

'How ironic.' I murmured in a sing-song voice.

'Shut up, Damon.'

'How'd the club meeting go?' I grinned and let Andie go sit in her seat beside me. 'Did I miss anything particularly insightful from St Stefan?'

'Shut up, Damon.' I heard a shout from Stefan, who had probably been listening to the whole conversation.

My grin spread wider. 'I feel so loved.'

'Damon.' Andie whined. 'Can't we go back to your place?' she smiled seductively at me. I gave her an impatient look.

'In a minute.' I promised, and she quieted down. She'd been particularly annoying since I'd allowed her to talk again.

'Sounds like your girlfriend wants to come back here.' it wasn't Alaric whose voice was on the other end. It was Stefan's. I suppose Ric must have passed the phone over without telling me.

I shrugged, even though he couldn't see me. 'Looks like we have a difference of opinion.'

'Don't hurt her, Damon.' Stefan warned. Ever the pacifist.

'I wasn't planning to... much.' I smirked.

I could just picture Stefan's eye-roll. 'Just get back to the boarding house.' he said. I think he would have said more if I hadn't have snapped the phone shut, effectively ending the conversation.

'Come on, honey.' I smiled with false sweetness as Andie. 'Let's get back to my place.'

**A/N: Yay, semi-evil Damon is making a return. ;) Rawr for that.  
>Cliffhanger! Woop, woop! Please don't hate me for that twist with Marcus and Elena... :( I thought it'd be a good idea to have Elena fighting with someone else over a guy, instead of constantly being fought over. Don't you think?<br>Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Sorry for the delay, internet's been out... wow, I'm full of excuses, aren't I? ;) No, but really, my internet is incredibly fickle.  
>Feel free to leave a review! I love them all! :D<br>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	15. Reaction

**Chapter 15. **

**Elena's POV. **

Hmm... girlfriend?

And here was me, thinking I would always be the centre of attention.

I gave a tight smile. 'Oh. How wonderful.'

Marcus looked at me, his expression weary. '_Please do not be angry with me_.' he said in Italian.

'_Now, why on earth would I be angry with you__**?' **_I asked in the same language, the same smile in my voice.

The truth is, I was angry. I shouldn't have been, but I was.

Marcus hesitated. '_For all those years, you know, I looked for you. I was desperate to find you... you were my love, Elena, and you still are. I just... it's just..._' he hung his head and I raised an eyebrow.

'_But you fell in love all over again somewhere along the way?_' I guessed, my voice surprisingly soft. He glanced up at me and didn't answer, only looked at Jenny. The red-haired witch was watching us carefully, her expression a curious mix between annoyance and hopelessness.

She looked almost defeated.

'This is her, isn't it?' she asked, looking at me but speaking to Marcus. 'The vampire that you fell in love with.'

Marcus hesitated. 'Yes.'

I smirked at her. 'Don't sound so thrilled, my dear.'

She scowled at me. 'He's mine.' she muttered. 'You can't just come waltzing in to steal him back.'

I chuckled. 'And yet, you two are the ones who stumbled into _my _town, _my _hotel.' I paused and let a dazzling grin spread across my face. 'And just to tell you... you do not _own _Marcus.'

She sneered. 'And you do?'

I shrugged. 'I did make him.'

She opened her mouth to retort, but was interrupted by two vampires- one blond, one brunette- bursting onto the scene.

Ah, my dear brothers had arrived.

It was about to get interesting.

**Klaus' POV. **

My eyes widened and I paused. So did Elijah.

As we had been walking, a sudden jolt of memory flashed through me- and I assume the same happened to Elijah.

Marcus Seneca. Joel Wesson. It all made sense now... but why didn't we recognise him before? How the _hell _did that happen?

'Klaus.' Elijah said, a worried undertone to his voice. I understood immediately.

Elena.

'Back to the hotel.' I ordered. We turned around and ran back. It didn't take us long to get there. We burst through the doors to Elena's hotel room and my eyes widened once more at the sight before us.

Marcus and Elena were stood there facing each other, and a tall girl with red hair and green eyes who I immediately knew was a witch was stood looking at them, an angry yet sad look on her face. All of their heads swivelled towards me and Elijah. Elena was the only one who smiled.

'Oh, my dear brothers, you've finally arrived. I take it you remember my old friend Marcus?' she asked.

I looked at him. 'How the hell are you here?'

He rolled his eyes. 'Dear god, is everybody going to ask me that? Long story short, Elena's blood turned me into a vampire when I died that night, and yada yada. I have to say, you haven't changed at all over the years.'

I frowned. 'She didn't give you that much.'

'Trust me, she did.'

Elijah sighed and looked at the red-haired witch. 'And who are you?'

'I'm Jenny- Marcus' girlfriend.' she replied with a frown. 'And you?'

I felt a quick flash of anger when she mentioned that she was Marcus' girlfriend, but it faded quickly when Elena sent me a warning glance. 'It's a pleasure.' I said. 'My name is Klaus, this is Elijah. We are Elena's brothers.'

She raised an eyebrow. 'And you are Original vampires?'

I chuckled. 'Ever so observant, aren't you?'

'I'm a witch.' she responded. 'It's my job.'

'We're still waiting for an explanation, by the way.' Elijah interrupted, staring intently at both Marcus and Jenny. 'How is it that us vampires with the perfect memory didn't remember you until now?'

Jenny smiled faintly. 'I heard about the spell you performed on the _lovely_ Elena here.' she glared at my sister. 'And, since she put Marcus in danger by just knowing him, I figured that none of you would mind if I borrowed that particular spell. I used it on Marcus with a few tweaks- for example, should you ever encounter him, you wouldn't know who he was. It worked. Now, one year later, I'm back to lift the spell from my _boyfriend_.' she smiled. 'Any questions?'

I didn't like this girl and her smug, superior attitude. It made me want to snap her neck. Of course, Elena would never forgive me for doing that, simply because it would upset her dear Marcus.

'None at all.' I smirked. 'Now, why don't you run and play while the _adults _here have a conversation?'

Her smile dropped instantly and she glared coldly at me. 'Just because I'm not hundreds of years old, _Niklaus_, it doesn't mean that I don't know how to take down someone who is.' she threatened.

I raised an eyebrow. 'Oh, you know of me, then?'

She snorted. 'Of course. The first, and so far, only vampire-werewolf hybrid in the world.' she shrugged. 'It's an interesting story. I know _all _of you, in fact. Not just because Marcus once told me about you.'

Elena looked at Marcus with a slight smile. 'You told her about us?' she asked.

He smiled sheepishly. 'Couldn't resist.' he said simply.

**Elena's POV. **

I let out a small sigh. 'Well, then, I suppose you should both leave my hotel room. The day has been eventful, to say the least, and I already had plans.'

'Of course.' Marcus said graciously. 'I suppose we will see you soon, though.'

'Wait.' Klaus said. 'Why are you in danger?'

Marcus hesitated, then sighed. 'It is... complicated.'

'We have time.' Elijah replied.

Jenny smirked. 'I thought you had plans.'

I shrugged. 'A simple lie, to get you out. I'm sure we can take the time from our busy schedule for story time.'

She threw me a glare then looked at Marcus expectantly.

He rolled his eyes. 'You know, of course, how so many people are out to get you- the three of you. Well, some of them may or may not have found out about my past links to you. Apparently, that makes me a target.' he looked at me. 'I do hope you find a way to sort this business. I'd rather not see either you or me die.'

I grinned. 'I'll do my best.'

'So does this mean you know _who _is after us?' Klaus asked eagerly.

Marcus sighed sadly. 'I'm afraid not. Whoever it is likes to stay behind the scenes and has an awful lot of messengers.'

'Damn.' I mumbled. 'Someone _really _must have a grudge against us.'

'Why do they?' Jenny asked, curiosity in her voice.

I rolled my eyes. 'Probably something to do with the way me and Elijah are sticking with the man who killed our whole family.' I glanced at Klaus. 'If you can be called a man, Klaus.'

He chuckled. 'Thank you, sorella, for that.'

I grinned and looked back at Jenny, who was now staring at Klaus. 'I didn't know that part of the story.' she whispered.

I patted her on the shoulder. 'Then you obviously didn't do much research.' I then tightened my grip on her shoulder so I could turn her body to face the door, and I pushed her forward. 'Off you go, then. Your presence annoys me. You can go, too, Marcus.'

'Bitch.' Jenny muttered under her breath, but I ignored her and waved cheerfully at the both of them.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear Marcus' slight chuckle at how I brushed off Jenny. It gave me hope.

**Stefan's POV. **

'Damn it, Stefan, why'd you have to do that?' Damon whined as he watched Andie cower away from him in fear.

'What?' I replied heatedly. 'Tell her the truth?'

I'd just told Andie that Damon was a vampire, and most likely planning on killing her.

Damon rolled his eyes. 'Sweetie.' he said, looking into Andie's eyes. He was going to compel her. 'Don't be afraid of me.' he said.

Andie's shaking immediately stopped and she nodded once. 'I'm not afraid of you.'

Damon smiled at her and then shot me a glare. 'Did you only ask me to come here so you could scare the girls I bring home?'

I scowled. 'No. Just shut up, Damon.'

He chuckled. '_Is _there a reason why you asked me to come home?'

'I didn't want you hurting anybody.'

'Like that's gonna happen.'

I glanced at Andie wearily. 'Oh, I can see that.' I muttered.

Damon shot me an annoyed look. 'If you'll excuse us.' he said smoothly, gripping Andie's arm and pulling her along with him as he left the room to do god-knows-what.

I let out a sigh. The day had been long and complicated. I felt a strong need to just _sleep_. I glanced down at the ring on my finger and sighed again. It felt so heavy against my skin. I felt no need to take it off, though- I would never be that tired.

I missed Elena Gilbert. I missed my sweet, innocent human girlfriend who would always trust and believe in me when things went wrong.

But she was gone, replaced with the cold Original vampire who was the sister of Elijah and Klaus.

And she would never return. Not in my eternal lifetime.

**A/N: I finally updated, le woop.  
>I'm so sorry it's taken so long! There's no excuse, really. :( I'm just a bad person. Hope you'll forgive me!<br>I also hope you liked the chapter. It took me forever to write, for some reason. The next update will (hopefully) come on this day next week! :) If it doesn't, just give me another virtual slap, they're actually pretty fun.  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	16. Searching

**Chapter 16. **

**Elena's POV. **

The next day, I decided to pay the Salvatore brothers a little visit.

I knew they were in the boarding house and I didn't bother knocking before I went inside. I didn't care if they got angry with me for intruding.

'Knock, knock.' I said with a smirk from the doorway of the living room.

They both whirled, surprise written all over their faces. Damon's expression faded into anger when he saw me, and Stefan's turned to sadness.

Looks like at least _one _brother was missing me. I grinned. 'Nice to see you both.'

'What are you doing here?' Damon demanded. He smelled of stale alcohol, presumably from the day before. I could smell human blood on him, too, which made sense, since I could also _hear_ a human woman moving around in the bathroom upstairs. It surprised me slightly that Stefan had allowed Damon to bring home his little snack box.

'What? No hello?' I pouted. 'Consider my feelings hurt, Damon.'

'Get the hell out of here.' he spat.

I smirked and looked at Stefan. 'Are you going to greet me properly, Stefan?'

'Hello, Elena.' he said stiffly.

I grinned. 'Good boy.' I purred. 'As for why I'm here... well, I just came to warn you. There's yet another vampire in town- just to let you know, he's eight hundred years-old, so I wouldn't take him on. And he's here with his little witch girlfriend- another friend for Bonnie.' I chuckled dryly.

'Another long-lost family member?' Damon taunted.

I gave him a cold smile. 'No, actually.' I said. I decided to twist the knife in his gut- I wasn't an idiot, I knew of his feelings for me. 'Another ex-boyfriend.' I smirked, looked at Stefan. 'Maybe you two will be friends- after all, you have something in common.'

'Leave.' Stefan's voice was cold and angry, but it didn't take a vampire to hear the undertone of hurt in his voice. It almost made me feel guilty- almost. I was a vampire, I couldn't afford to care who I hurt and who I didn't.

'Oh, trust me, I'm leaving.' I frowned. 'I wouldn't stay in this little den of misery if you paid me.'

I gave them both a sweet smile and walked out, but I paused before I reached the front door.

It was time for me to have a little fun.

I ran up the stairs to the bathroom where the human was- I recognised her as Andie Starr, a news reporter.

Perfect.

She gasped when she saw me, dropping her make-up brush and pressing a hand over her heart. Then she narrowed her eyes at me. 'Who are you?' she demanded. Probably fearful that a beautiful girl was in her beloved Damon's bathroom.

I frowned at her. 'Damon's girlfriend.' I said with innocence that I hadn't known I possessed. 'Who the hell are you?'

Her eyes were wide. 'D-Damon's... girlfriend?' she stammered.

I nodded. 'And you are? I'm sure I know you from somewhere...'

'Andie Starr.' she said stiffly, extending her hand.

I nodded again, ignoring her offered hand until it dropped limply back to her side. 'Thought I recognised you.' I cocked my head to the side. 'What the hell are you doing in my boyfriend's bathroom?'

'I, uh... excuse me.' she mumbled, walking out of the bathroom, apparently not caring that she only had half a face of make-up on. I snickered to myself and blurred past her and out the house, only stopping to shoot Damon a sly wink as I left.

'Still looking for dear old Katerina?' I asked as I walked past my brothers, who were talking in hushed tones with a nervous-looking vampire. The vampire looked to be around twenty-eight years old- but I knew that in vampire years he was closer to being five-hundred years old. It was in his essence, his demeanour. He claimed to have spotted Katherine in New Orleans not two days ago. He was discussing it with my brothers.

The vampire looked at me with wide eyes. 'You- you're Elena, aren't you?' he asked, licking his lips nervously.

I smiled charmingly at him. 'How do you do?'

He stared at me, and then looked at Elijah and Klaus. 'I heard about what the three of you did- helping your sister hide her identity like that, and being able to actually perform a spell like that... it's amazing.'

Klaus waved a dismissive hand. 'Yes, yes, we all know how wonderful and talented we all are. You didn't come here to gush over us, I'm sure. Where exactly did you see Katerina?'

'She was in New Orleans...' they continued to talk and I tuned out. I didn't really want to discuss my however-many-greats granddaughter's location.

I went to Klaus' bookshelf and scanned it for any interesting reads- I smirked when I saw that he had a first-hand copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Ah, good old Stoker. He had the whole mythology wrong, of course, but I gave him brownie points for effort. He was lucky enough to meet a real vampire once when I paid him a visit. He signed my copy of Dracula and I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

He was a real darling.

I picked out a book that I had read many times and never got tired of: _A Christmas Carol_. The Charles Dicken's ghost-story classic never failed to thrill me. I enjoyed his work.

I finished the book in ten minutes- I needed only to scan the pages. When I was finished with my reading, I was bored again.

I sighed to myself, tossing the book into the corner of Klaus' room.

'Sorella, do not throw my belongings. That was a gift.'

I rolled my eyes and ignored Klaus, playing with the hem of my stylish summer dress. It made me look more sweet and innocent than I actually was- anyone who saw me wearing it would never guess that I was the girl who had killed countless amounts of people, innocent or not.

And that, really, was the only reason I ever wore it.

**Damon's POV. **

'Damon, who the hell was that girl?' Andie demanded.

I sighed. Was everyone seriously so against Andie? Because, really, that only made me want to keep her more. 'No one, sweetie. Go back upstairs and be quiet.' I ordered. Needless to say, I'd been compelling her and drinking her blood for the past day and a half.

I noticed Stefan watching us with a raised eyebrow and I looked at him with a smirk. 'What's up, Stefan? Want to share my snack?'

'I'd rather die, Damon.' he sneered.

I shrugged. 'Suit yourself. Still eating bunnies, then?'

He paused. 'Well, yes. I _was_ getting a little bit of human blood every day from Elena, but now...'

'But now she's a vampire, and a bitchy one at that, and her blood would be pretty much useless to you?' I finished for him.

'Exactly.'

I clapped him on the back, perhaps a little harder than I'd intended. 'This is why I make a point not to fall in love, Steffy. You only end up hurt.'

'That's a lie, Damon, and we both know it. You loved Elena just as much as I did.' Stefan said, his gaze intense.

I faltered. Had my feelings been that noticeable? Surely not, since Elena had never seemed to notice them...

'I don't know what you're talking about.' I said stubbornly. 'Gee, sorry I said anything.'

I left the room and went upstairs to Andie. If there was anything that could drown out the sorrow of being reminded of a lost love, it was human blood- and lots of it.

**A/N: I know! Not much is happening, at all! And it's been too long since I gave you a chapter... so, yes, this was more of a filler than anything. Don't worry, though, because there will be a surprise guest next chapter! :D Yay for that!  
>Hope you liked the chapter. Please review, and I thank you greatly for the reviews you've already given. They're great!<br>Keep on rockin'.  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	17. Katerina

**Chapter 17. **

**Damon's POV. **

It was later that afternoon when Elena came back.

'Forget something?' I spat at her. She frowned slightly and tilted her head to the side.

'What are you talking about?' she asked in a voice that sounded so much like Elena Gilbert's that I wanted to cry.

'What are you, pretending to be human again? Do yourself a favour, Elena, and drop the act. No one's buying it.'

Her look of confusion only increased. 'But, Damon-'

'Stop it!' I raised my voice. A mistake.

Elena's eyes remained confused, but she smirked, nonetheless. 'Hmm...' she murmured. 'Do I sense trouble in paradise? What happened with darling Elena now?'

Wait, what? What the hell was she talking about?

'Elena...'

She frowned disapprovingly at me. 'Now, now, Damon, I thought you would have recognised a vampire when you saw one. I'm not your precious little human.'

'I know.' I said slowly, as if she were a child. 'You're a vampire.'

'Damon!' she said, sounding exasperated. 'What, have you grown even more stupid since I left?'

'What? When did you leave?'

She made an annoyed sound, then suddenly stopped. A slow smile spread across her face. 'Oh, I get it. I see that my little Damon hasactually learned to play games, too.' she flipped her curly dark hair over shoulder with a smirk. 'Congratulations.'

It was then that I noticed she'd changed clothes from earlier. Instead of wearing the pretty dress from the morning, she was wearing a purple vest top and black skinny jeans with heeled boots.

This wasn't Elena. This was someone else- this was another vampire, one that looked exactly like her...

'Katherine.' I growled her name, lashing out my hand to grip her neck and push her against the wall.

'Damon.' she purred in greeting, prying my hand away from her neck and walking away, swinging her hips so much that it almost looked like a twitch.

A very, very seductive twitch.

'I have to admit, that _wasn't_ the welcome I was expecting.' she chuckled, then paused. I heard her sniff the air, and she whirled round to face me. Her eyes were wide. 'Does my nose decieve me, or has Klaus been here?'

Time for me to play a little game of my own.

'Klaus?' I asked, furrowing my brow in false confusion. 'What are you talking about, Katherine? Klaus hasn't been here.'

She ignored me, sniffed the air again. 'And... Elijah. And another one...' she fixed wild eyes on me. 'What the hell is going on here, Damon?'

I shook my head slowly. 'I have no idea what you're talking about. And what do you mean, _another one_? Is there another Original or something?'

'No. No, no, no.' she babbled, running her hands through her hair.

'Something the matter?'

'_No_!' she yelled, flinging her hand out and knocking over a pretty vase from the eighteen-hundreds.

'What the hell is going on here?' Stefan demanded, appearing at the doorway. He stared at Katherine with a furrowed brow. 'Elena? What are you doing back here?'

'I'm not Elena, you idiot!' she seethed. Then she continued to mumble to herself, pacing around the room looking considerably more stressed than she had a few moments ago. 'They're still looking- still looking for me- almost found me...'

His eyes widened. 'Katherine?'

I nodded to him. 'Bitch is back.'

He gave me a look that clearly said _What's wrong with her? _

'Tell you later.' I mouthed back to him.

**Marcus' POV. **

'Mark?' Jenny frowned at me, cupping my cheek in her pale hand. 'Is everything okay?'

'Everything's fine.' I replied absently, twirling a lock of her red hair around my finger.

She sighed. Again. 'That's the third time I've asked that, and the third time you've given me a dishonest answer. Answer it again, with the truth this time.'

I gave her a small grin. 'You're ever so trusting, dear.'

'And you're old enough to be my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's best friend.' she retorted, sticking her tongue out.

I chuckled. 'I can assure you, I've never met anyone in your family.'

She grinned at me, then it faded a little. 'Is it that vampire, and her brothers?'

'Her name is Elena.' I said immediately, and regretted it instantly. Jenny sighed frustratedly and withdrew her hand, looking pointedly away from me as she folded her arms across her chest.

'I knew it.' she mumbled quietly. 'I'm no competition compared to her, am I?' she asked sadly, turning her big green eyes to me.

I frowned at her. 'I'm not going to leave you for her.' I said.

'Are you sure about that?'

'Of course I am!' I said loudly. I took a deep breath and lowered my voice, stroking her face lightly. The whole situation was so complicated. Just when I allow myself to fall in love again, and with a human- a _witch_- Elena has to come waltzing back into my life, after eight-hundred years. When were things ever going to be easy, though?

'I love you, Jenny.' I soothed her. 'Don't doubt that.'

'I don't...' she smiled at me. 'But do you love me as much as you loved her?'

I didn't answer. I couldn't.

**Elena's POV. **

'That scent...' Klaus murmured, sniffing the air. Raising an eyebrow, I did the same, only to come across a rather familiar scent. A wide grin spread across my face.

'Katerina has come to play.'

****Flashback** **

_(General POV) _

_Katerina Petrova had fled to England. _

_It was a rather unfortunate choice of haven for her, really. She didn't know about the three vampires waiting for her, just where she was planning to stay. _

_How unfortunate. _

_'And her blood will break your curse?' Elena asked, frowning a little. Yes, Katerina was a descendant of hers. Yes, that made her just a little sceptical. But she cared about Niklaus more than she cared about Katerina, and so she was agreeable to the plan to sacrifice her doppelgänger. _

_'Yes, it will.' Niklaus nodded. _

_Elena glanced at Elijah, then at Klaus. 'Then I shall be nearby if you need me. I shall not show my face- I feel that would be rather frightening for the young human.' _

_Elijah chuckled. 'That would be wise, dear sister.' _

_'Good luck.' Elena said, before slipping away into the crowd of the mansion. _

_A few hours later, she heard the sound of a conversation that confirmed that her dear brothers had indeed found the Petrova doppelgänger. Katerina was talking to Elijah and Niklaus, and she sounded rather taken by them already. _

_'Is something the matter?' Katerina asked Elijah, her gaze boring into his. _

_He shook his head slowly. 'No, nothing. You just... you remind me of someone I know.' _

_I pressed a hand to my mouth to cover the giggle. Of course she reminded him of me- we were practically identical. _

_'And now, Katerina, I would like you to meet my brother- Niklaus.' Elijah said. _

_'A pleasure to meet you.' Klaus said charmingly, giving my doppelgänger a kiss on the hand. I rolled my eyes- he was her great great great great great uncle, for goodness' sake. _

_'The pleasure is all mine, my lord.' Katherine said, sounding thrilled. _

_They continued to converse through the night. Katerina seemed to very much like Elijah, and they spend much of the night just talking. Niklaus came to me later in the night and told me that it was going well. Katerina seemed taken with the both of them, and everything was going well. _

_'Wonderful.' I smiled. 'At this rate, dear brother, your curse will be broken in no time.' _

_He said nothing, simply nodded. _

_That night was the beginning of many more with Katerina, many more complicated nights. _

****End Flashback****

'It seems that way.' Klaus smirked.

'This changes things, I suppose.' Elijah commented.

'Oh, yes, it does.' I grinned. 'From the smell of it, she's gone straight to her precious Salvatore brothers. An easy target, if you ask me.'

'Do you think she knows we're back?' Klaus asked.

'Why should she?' Elijah shrugged.

'What do you say we pay our old _friend_ a visit?' I suggested.

Klaus chuckled. 'My, my, sorella, you really are ever so cunning.'

I shrugged in a similar way to Elijah. 'It's in my nature.'

'So it is.' Elijah murmured.

'I should think Katerina would _love_ to see us again, don't you?' he paused, grinning wider. 'Especially me.'

'Should we tell her about myself yet?' I questioned, tilting my head to the side. 'As much as I would love the opportunity to scare her senseless, I think it would be wiser to wait, don't you?'

Elijah rolled his eyes and grinned devilishly. 'I think it would be rather more fun to just scare the doppelgänger.'

'Agreed.' Klaus said with a wink.

'Do you think she's tormenting Damon and Stefan?' I wondered aloud.

They both gave me incredulous looks. 'Are you really asking that, sorella?' Klaus asked with a laugh.

'Of course she is. She's Katerina.' Elijah agreed.

I smiled. 'She takes after her great great great great grandmother.'

**A/N: Short chapter? Yes. Overdue chapter? Yes. Uneventful chapter? Yes. Chapter? Yes! :D  
>So, I updated. Finally and such. Happy, isn't it? :) Hope you liked the chapter!<br>So, Katherine's back... dun, dun, dun! And Marcus is doubtful, ooh. The suspense must be killing you... ;)  
>Please continue to review, your reviews make me wonderfully happy! :D<br>Keep on being amazing.  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	18. Games

**Chapter 18. **

**Elena's POV. **

I huffed impatiently. The human charade was a little harder to keep up when you _know _that you're a vampire. I wished I could make my legs carry me at vampire speed up the path to the boarding house, but I needed to keep up this charade.

We had the plan figured out. We were going to mess with Katerina a little more.

I would pretend to be human, knocking on the door, acting all lovey-dovey with Stefan, pretending to be scared of Katherine- then my brothers would swoop in, scare the crap out of my doppelgänger, and it would hopefully be amusing.

Let's just hope the darling Salvatore brothers would be in the mood to play along.

I lifted my hand and knocked lightly on the door, being careful not to break it with my strength. I could hear Katerina inside, arguing with Damon about something. I allowed a quick smirk to flit across my face. Perfect.

The smirk dropped, however, when a confused and aggravated looking Stefan answered the door. He scowled when he saw me. 'What is it?'

I wrinkled my brow in false confusion. 'Stefan, are you okay? Is something wrong?'

I was pleased to know I sounded human, just like Elena Gilbert. Stefan just looked confused, and I gave him a quick wink.

The wink appeared to have explained it all, and understanding dawned on his face.

'Elena.' he gave me a tight smile. 'Come on in.'

I grinned at him and walked in, going to the living room where Katherine and Damon had stopped arguing. Katherine gave me an intimidating smirk.

'And the human has arrived.' she said, humour sparking in her eyes. 'Wonderful.'

I acted shocked, whirling round to Stefan and Damon. 'What is she doing here?'

'Elena-' Stefan started, but I cut him off by whirling round to face Katherine.

'No one wants to here.' I told her.

I was acting the part rather well. I could feel all the emotions practically radiating off of the other vampires in the room. Katherine was greatly amused. Stefan was both amused and impatient, clearly unhappy that both of the Petrova doppelgängers in his life were in the same room, both playing the games they were so used to. Damon was just confused. I silently hoped that he would play along- for amusement's sake.

'Little Elena,' Katherine sighed. 'Don't you know? I don't care who wants me here.' she gave a sly smile. 'How are things? Still in paradise with _my_ Stefan? Or was that cold greeting earlier a signal of trouble in paradise?'

I didn't say anything, just looked at her.

'Shut up, Katherine.' Stefan said from behind me.

Katherine smirked. 'Aw, did I hit a sore spot?'

'I do believe, Katerina, that the boy told you to be quiet. You would do well to obey.' a deep, British voice said from behind Katherine. I hid my smirk at my brothers' entrance. They always were rather dramatic.

But, then again, I am the one deriving amusement from pretending to be a human.

Katherine stiffened in her position, her eyes widening. She went completely still, didn't move, didn't dare breathe. All she did was utter one word.

'Klaus.'

My brother smirked from behind her. 'Hello, Katerina. Miss me?'

'No.' Katherine breathed. 'No!' she said, more loudly, unlocking her frozen muscles and whirling around to stare at Klaus and Elijah. She backed away slowly.

'No, no, no.' she rambled. 'You can't be here, you.. you...'

Elijah looked at me. 'You played your part very well, dear sister.'

Katherine turned round and stared at me with wild, confused eyes. '_What?_'

I smirked at her. 'Hello, Katerina. Not so confident now, are you?'

'You're-'

'Yes, I am.' I nodded. 'What, no taunts? Too scared, now that you know I'm one of the Originals who wants you dead?'

She looked utterly terrified. She looked at Stefan and Damon, and I saw the pleading in her glance. The change in attitude was almost alarming.

But the whole scene was really rather amusing.

'Don't kill me.' she begged, staring at me and my brothers.

'Right now?' I shrugged. 'You've been running from us for 500 years.'

'Yes... it's only fair that your death should last at least _half _of that.' Klaus finished for me.

Katherine actually trembled. 'Please.' she pleaded. 'I was going to hand over the doppelgänger-'

'You were going to hand over _me_.' I reminded her, amused.

'I- I-'

'Oh, Katerina, do stop stuttering. It doesn't become you, I have to say.' Elijah said, looking coldly at her.

'Good news!' I said brightly to her. 'We're not going to kill you.'

'Yet,' Klaus added.

'Isn't that wonderful?' I beamed at her.

She said nothing. 'How did you get away with pretending to be a human? For a whole year?'

I shrugged. 'I have my ways.'

'That should be impossible.' she breathed, something akin to awe in her voice.

'We have plenty of witches on our side.' I said coldly, not impressed with her sort-of compliment.

I glanced back at Stefan and Damon and saw they were watching us carefully. Stefan looked rather horrified at our poor treatment of Katherine- or maybe it was just that the girl he probably still thought was so innocent was the one being so cruel and cold. Damon, for his part, looked quite pleased, most likely that Katherine was being put in her place.

It must have been a thrilling show.

'I had no idea who you were, I swear-' Katherine started, but I cut her off by raising a hand.

'Shut up, Katerina.' I said, meeting her eyes. Her mouth snapped shut and she looked at me with slightly wide eyes.

Yes, the ability to compel vampires was definitely a useful one.

Klaus laughed and looked at Stefan and Damon. 'Ever so sorry that we interrupted your undoubtedly fabulous day.' he said, sounding about as sincere as Katherine would.

Damon smirked. 'No, no, trust me. It was worth it.'

I chuckled, looking at him. 'Oh, you do have a cruel heart Damon.' I smirked. 'I love it.'

He met my eyes silently and I saw that smirk grow wider.

I saw Stefan scowl- once again- from the corner of my eye and I turned to look at him.

'You're not Elena Gilbert any more.' he said, sadness in his tone.

Automatically, I clapped my hands together. 'Brilliant deduction.' I said drily.

He shook his head slowly and looked away pointedly. I raised an eyebrow, the corners of my lips curving upwards slightly, and I turned back to my brothers.

'Shall we leave?' I asked.

'As long as we get to bring dear Katerina with us.' Klaus said.

I rolled my eyes. 'I swear, you're obsessed with this girl. Very well, then.'

Suddenly, Katherine made a break for it. She sprinted away, her mouth shut and unable to speak.

She barely made it to the front door before I caught her hair in a fierce grip. She grunted as I yanked her back, snarling.

'Don't try that again.' I growled at her, releasing her hair harshly. 'We're too fast for you.'

She nodded quickly and allowed me to pull her carelessly back to the living room. Klaus chuckled lightly and Elijah raised a critical eyebrow.

'Still behaving foolishly, Katerina?' Klaus questioned mockingly.

'Enough talking.' I snapped. 'Let's just go.'

**A/N: Short chapter, but I hope you liked it.  
>Was the meeting with Katherine all right? I hope it was! It took me forever to figure out how to do it. Hope you liked it! :)<br>Thank you for the reviews- we have so many already, it's absolutely amazing! You guys are great. ;D Keep them coming!  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	19. Compulsion

**Chapter 19. **

**Elena's POV. **

'Oh, for God's sake, Katerina, will you stop breathing so heavily?' I complained, shooting her a glare.

She glared right back. 'No.' she replied stubbornly.

Oh, dear god, help us all. She was acting like a human child.

'Behave.' Klaus snapped at her. She winced and glanced around, like she was looking for a place where she'd be able to run away to.

I smirked. 'There's nowhere for you to hide here, Katerina.'

There wasn't. We were in the woods- the woods that I knew every inch of, inside out.

She scowled and looked down. 'Where are you taking me?'

'To a pretty little hotel, just outside of these woods. You know it, don't you, Katty?' I smirked. 'Mrs Flowers owns it.'

She stiffened. 'Yes, I know it.'

'Good.' I chuckled. 'You know, you could talk to us a little more. This whole thing is getting a little boring.'

'What do you want me to say?' she asked dully. She seemed less scared than before, now more... lifeless. Like she had accepted the inevitable.

I rolled my eyes. 'Anything. All this moping and pouting? Yeah, it doesn't suit you.'

She remained silent. I huffed impatiently. I noticed Elijah was keeping silent, too, barely glancing back at Katherine. I knew that he had once grown rather fond of her... I wondered if maybe he still felt the same.

'Well, aren't you just a bundle of fun.' I muttered sarcastically, exchanging a look with Klaus.

'Here we are.' he announced with a slight smile upon arriving at the hotel.

I listened to the humans- and vampires, and witches...- inside the hotel. Of course, Marcus was in there. He was with Jenny.

I'd rather not say what they were doing.

'In we go.' I said roughly, continuing towards the entrance at a fast pace. Klaus gripped Katherine's arm tightly from behind me and pulled her in, and I heard her pained grunt. Yes, I knew from experience just how fierce Klaus' grip could be. Even to a vampire.

'We can keep her in my room.' I smirked as we walked briskly inside. 'It'll be fun. We can have sleepovers, and braid each other's hair, and talk about boys... that's what girls do at sleepovers now, isn't it?'

Klaus threw me a grin. 'I believe modern entertainment may have gone past that.'

I shrugged. 'Whatever. Suits me. We can do it the old fashioned way- paint each other's nails, read magazines... we'll do fine.'

I heard Elijah's chuckle. 'Try not to torture her too much.' he said.

I giggled. 'When have you known me to torture people?'

My two brothers exchanged glances and said nothing. Wait, what? In the past, I'd tried my best to hurt humans as little as possible.

Granted, it was more fun to hurt vampires anyway, but... I wasn't that bad.

'Shut up.' I scowled, leaning against the check-in desk and tapping my nails impatiently against the smooth, polished counter. 'Mrs Flowers?' I called with a frown, seeing that she wasn't in there.

No response. I couldn't hear her anyway- odd. She usually spent all her time in this hotel.

'Where is she?' Klaus asked with narrowed eyes. Trust him to be the first to get suspicious.

I noticed a few of the hotel residents throwing us odd looks- maybe it was because of the girl we were dragging along with us, who happened to look exactly like me. The people in this town knew me, though- knew Elena Gilbert. They knew she didn't have a twin.

I'd have to find them all and compel them later.

After a few more seconds, I rolled my eyes. 'Whatever. I can pick the lock in my room easily.'

We headed off upstairs. I went to my room and pushed it open, using just a fraction of my superhuman strength. I didn't want to breath the door, after all.

'In you go.' Klaus said, shoving Katherine inside. She protested angrily.

I frowned mockingly. 'I never knew I had such a _whiny_ voice.' I looked at my brothers and raised an eyebrow. 'Do I really sound like that?'

'Your voice is much prettier.' a voice, a voice that didn't belong to my brothers or Katherine, sounded from outside the door.  
>Marcus was outside. Fully-clothed, thank god.<p>

I grinned despite myself. 'Hey, Mark. Mind if I call you Mark?'

A light, barely concealed chuckle. 'If you like.'

'Finished with your little activities?' I smirked, creeping the door open just in time to see him roll his eyes. Little Jenny was stood behind him, presumably sulking, with her arms folded across her chest. She was pointedly looking anywhere but at the vampires who surrounded her.

At my words, she spared an angry glance at me and scowled. I only widened my smirk in return. Marcus gave me a warning glance, and I rolled my eyes at him. The witch was merely a harmless kitten, as far as I was concerned.

'Who's this?' Marcus frowned, inclining his head towards Katherine, who was being held firmly in place by Elijah.

'Marcus, meet Katherine. Katherine, meet Marcus.' I smiled warmly. 'I'm sure you'll be great friends.'

'She looks exactly like you.' Jenny stated.

I rolled my eyes at her. 'Way to state the obvious, Ginny.'

'Jenny.'

'Like I care.'

'Now, you two, be civil.' Klaus said, but he gave me one of those secret smirks he always reserves for me and Elijah.

I snorted but said nothing.

'She does look exactly like you.' Marcus pointed out.

I smiled sweetly at him. 'Trust me, I'm much nicer. She's my doppelgänger. I trust you know what one is?'

He nodded. 'Yes.'

Jenny stared at me from next to him. 'Listen, vampire. I know you don't like me. I can't say I like you very much, either. But can you at least put that aside when we're asking serious questions?'

I hesitated, like I was actually considering it. 'Maybe.' I finally replied with a devilish smirk.

She sighed. 'I'd like to say that you're the most immature, childish, pure _pathetic_ 1000 year old that I've ever met.'

I winked. 'Then you can't have met many 1000 year olds.' I retorted.

'Enough.' she responded distantly, leaning against Marcus. I didn't miss the faint smirk on her face when she saw me glaring. 'Enough to know that I don't want to meet any more.'

'You're no fun.' Klaus said.

'Can we please stop discriminating my girlfriend?' Marcus asked in a tired voice, wrapping a protective arm around Jenny.

I gave him another of my sweetest smile. 'When she stops asking for it.'

'So, why is your doppelgänger sat on your bed?' Marcus asked, clearly deciding to ignore my last comment.

I shrugged. 'She crossed us.' my gaze flickered over to my brothers. 'All of us.'

'So why not just kill her?'

I smiled widely, letting the tips of my canines show. 'We're getting to that.'

'And besides,' Elijah said quickly. 'She could be useful.'

I glanced at him, curious. He hadn't mentioned this before. 'How so?' I asked my brother.

'Think about it.' he said. 'Say whoever's after you comes to Mystic Falls looking for you. Do you really think they'd be able to tell the difference between you and Katerina?'

I narrowed my eyes, interested. 'Go on.'

'Pretend she's you.' he finished simply. 'I'm sure anyone would fall for it.'

'Not anyone.' I reminded him. 'But, I agree, a lot of people would. Okay. Good suggestion. Whatever. It's not like I care what happens to her anyway.'

'Just let me go.' Katherine said through clenched teeth.

'No.' Klaus replied in his velvety voice.

'I could be useful.' she continued. Trying to persuade us.

Like we could be persuaded.

Elijah frowned disapprovingly at her. 'Keep on the wavelength, Katerina. We just gathered that.'

'Please.' she begged.

I sighed, growing impatient with her. One more word...

'_Please_.' she said more loudly.

Letting out a light growl, I whizzed over to her with my speed. I heard a sharp intake of breath from Jenny; clearly, she hadn't seen any vampire move as fast as me.

Yet.

I looked Katherine in the eyes, in the eyes that matched mine. 'Be quiet.' I compelled her.

She nodded silently, looking blank. Then she blinked, letting her gaze fly wildly around the room, before it settled on me and an angry look crossed her face.

I went back over to lean against the closet by the door, tilting my head down and feeling the wall's shadow fall across my face.

'Thank god.' Klaus joked after a minute's silence, only to be ignored. We all stayed silent.

Klaus sighed. 'Thank you, sorella, for spoiling the mood.'

I finally spoke. 'You're welcome, brother.'

He grinned. 'Words. Finally.'

'Don't get used to it.' I retorted.

'I think this is our cue to leave.' Marcus said, and I finally glanced up to look at him. He looked uncomfortable.

I raised an eyebrow. 'See you around.'

'Yeah. See you.' he replied, taking a step back, his arm still around Jenny. He looked at us all, frowned, and then left, back to his room, Jenny in tow.

'That was awkward.' Elijah grinned as soon as the door closed over.

**A/N: Finally! I'm so sorry I didn't update last week- things were going on, I had a script to memorise, I genuinely didn't have time to update! Hope you'll forgive me with this chapter... Just so you all know, I update once a week, every Sunday.  
>I know the chapter isn't great, and nothing really happened- it's mainly just a filler. I hope you liked it anyway!<br>I have a LOT of studying to do. It's annoying, and getting in the way of my updating. So, I'll just have to fit chapter in around my study of science and all things scientific. :)  
>Thanks for all the reviews- keep them coming, please!<br>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	20. Witches

**Chapter 20. **

**Elena's POV. **

It was time for me to pay a visit to my very own witch.

Or, at least, she used to be... it wasn't hard to figure that Bonnie Bennett will probably never want anything to do with me again.

But it was worth a shot.

'I'm going out.' I announced to Klaus and Elijah. For the past two days, I had mostly ignored Katherine. She was grating my nerves.

'Where? A walk would be nice. I'll join you.' Elijah said.

'I'm going to find the young Bennett witch.' I said. 'You don't need to come.'

'I'd like to.' he insisted. Then he frowned at me. 'Why do you need a witch?'

I shrugged. 'I want to see if she can track some people.'

'Like who?' Klaus asked, pulling his fangs from a young girl's neck in the corner of his room.

'I want to see how many others in our family are still alive.' I said evenly. 'And where they are. If there actually are any of them.'

My hybrid brother snorted. 'Good luck with that one, sorella.'

I scowled at him. 'Think about it. If Nico is still alive, how many others?'

'I hardly missed anyone out when I killed our family.'

My eyes narrowed and I glared at Klaus. 'You left one out. _I _think there are more, and I shall stick to my opinion, thank you.'

A small, scared noise came from the corner of the room, and my head snapped towards Katherine. She was wide-eyed and staring at us, and I knew that in a moment, I was going to regret lifting her no-talking compulsion.

'Y-your family are.. still alive?' she stammered.

'Yes.' Elijah answered softly. 'At least, our brother is. We _hope_ there are more.'

'Personally, I don't.' Klaus said roughly.

I snarled at him and, in a flash of anger, had him pinned against the wall with my hand around his throat. '_Never_ speak badly of the family _you_ killed. _Our_ family.'

'You two.' Elijah said sharply. 'Enough.'

I hesitated a moment before releasing Klaus from my grip and backing away. 'Whatever. I'm going to Bonnie Bennett's house to see if she'll help me. Elijah, come if you want.'

**Elijah's POV. **

I followed Elena as she walked at a pace that was brisk, even to an Original vampire, to Bonnie Bennett's house.

I knew she was angry. She had always been protective of everyone in her family, and that's why she chose to stick by Klaus and myself all those years ago. She hated when anyone spoke badly about them.

It was why she and Klaus used to argue so much.

But I wasn't worried about them- no, of course not. This was much the same as every other argument between them; it would all be resolved in a few hours. Elena would forgive Klaus, and we would be the three happy vampire siblings once again.

It was always like that.

We reached the Bennett household and Elena knocked loudly and clearly, three times, on the front door. I heard the sounds of female voices suddenly stop upstairs, in what I assumed was the youngest Bennett's room, and I knew they had heard the knocking.

A few seconds later, the door swung open and an older-looking woman appeared. She was dark-skinned and looked a lot like Bonnie Bennett- the girl's mother, I guessed.

She smiled warmly at Elena, but saw me and frowned. 'Hello. May I help you?'

'Hi, Mrs Bennett.' Elena said warmly. 'Is Bonnie home?'

'Yes, dear, she's upstairs with Caroline. Why? Do you want her? Who's this?' Mrs Bennett gestured towards me.

'This is a friend of mine and Bonnie's. His name is Elijah. We just need to ask Bonnie about the history assignment that Mr Saltzman set us yesterday- I can't understand it at all.' Elena explained, giving a dazzling smile.

'A nice name. Exotic. Lovely to meet you.' Mrs Bennett smiled. 'I'll go get them both. They'll be glad to see you.'

'Thank you, Mrs Bennett.'

Mrs Bennett waved her hand dismissively. 'Please, honey, call me Grace.'

'Sure.' Elena smiled widely. 'Grace.'

Grace Bennett hobbled off upstairs to fetch her daughter.

'Caroline's here, too.' Elena murmured lowly to me.

'I know.'

We stopped talking when Grace returned, followed by two trudging teenage girls.

Bonnie Bennett and Caroline Forbes.

**Elena's POV. **

I ignored the glares on both of their faces. 'Hello.' I greeted with a small smile.

Grace smiled at us. She seemed to not notice the tension. 'Have fun.' she said before going back into her living room.

'Why are you two here?' Caroline demanded, looking between me and Elijah with an expression between anger and shock on her face.

I shrugged. 'We need your help.' I said, looking directly at Bonnie.

She snorted. 'Too bad you're not going to get it.' she replied, already turning on her heel.

'Do you want to rethink that answer?' Elijah asked from behind me. Bonnie froze and turned back to us.

'I won't help you, no matter how many people you threaten.' she said through gritted teeth.

I cocked my head to the side. 'Who said we were going to threaten anyone?'

She blinked. 'You're vampires. It's what you do.'

'Caroline's a vampire too.' I pointed out with a wide smile. 'Is she threatening anyone?'

Bonnie hesitated. 'Caroline's different.'

'What if I'm different, too?' I pressed, eyeing her carefully.

There was a long pause, before she said in a firm yet exasperated voice, '_No_.'

I raised my hands defensively. 'All right. Fine. I suppose you _don't_ want to know whether any of my family are still walking around.'

She froze in place once again. 'What?'

'What are you talking about?' Caroline asked, looking confused.

'It seems that Klaus didn't kill all of our family all those years ago after all. You know this, don't you? You know that my dear brother Nico paid us a visit a few days ago.'

'Yes.' she said stiffly. 'I know.'

Bonnie grimaced. 'And now you don't know how many more of your family are roaming around, still alive.'

'Exactly.' Elijah nodded.

'Will you help us?' I asked.

Bonnie hesitated and exchanged a look with Caroline. The bubble blonde nodded, and then Bonnie looked back to us. 'All right,' she said. 'Fine. But it's _only_ so we can find out how many more Originals we need to kill.'

I let out a loud, mocking laugh, much to both of their annoyance. 'Okay. Whatever you say.' I smiled, then it dropped and I returned to seriousness. 'Thank you for your help.'

'It's not for you.' Bonnie said coldly. 'You don't need to thank us.'

'Fine.' I said, just as coldly. 'We'll be back at 4pm, this afternoon. Make sure you have whatever you need.'

'But how can I-'

'Just get it.' I snapped.

Bonnie glared, green eyes flashing. 'Fine.'

'Don't be late.' Caroline said before whizzing up the stairs, followed shortly by Bonnie.

Me and Elijah left quickly. As we were walking back up the street, at a slower pace than earlier, I turned to my brother with a grin. 'Well,' I said. 'That went well.'

**A/N: Yay, another update! :D However short it may be...  
>I have a science project to do. -.- Boring. So I left it at my mum's house on Friday so I could write chapters instead! :D Yay!<br>Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. :) I wanted to see if I could establish more of a relationship between the three former best friends. Will they learn to stand each other once again? O.O Mystery!  
>Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews, and thank you to everyone who had favourited this story or added it to alerts! :D Reviews make me write faster, you know!<br>Keep 'em coming, s'il vous plait!  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	21. Tracking

**Chapter 21. **

**Elena's POV. **

'So, now we have a witch helping us.' I finished smugly. Me and Elijah were explaining what had happened with Bonnie to Klaus, who was listening intently.

'I find it quite unbelievable that she actually agreed to help you.' my brother said, raising a blond brow.

I shrugged. 'I suppose my powers of persuasion are stronger than you thought.' I teased.

He chuckled. 'Either way, it's come in handy. When did she want to meet you?'

'This afternoon.' Elijah answered. '4pm.'

'Right.' Klaus nodded. 'And I, of course, am coming with you.'

I frowned at him. 'You are?'

'Of course I am. You weren't expecting to leave me out of all the interesting stuff, were you?'

I chuckled. 'I suppose not.'

'Well, then, we have another three hours before we have to meet with the Bennett witch.' Elijah said, glancing unnecessarily at the clock on the wall.

'Plenty of time.' I waved my hand dismissively. 'I think I'll go out.'

'Where are you going?' Klaus asked. 'I'll join you.'

I glanced at him, annoyed. 'Do I have to go everywhere with an escort now?'

He looked mildly offended. 'I thought it might be nice if we got some time to talk. Brother and sisterly love, and all that.'

I smirked. 'Since when did you care about family?'

He glared at me. 'I happen to care more than you think.'

'Wow- you actually care whether they exist or not?' I gasped, acting shocked.

He growled and lunged at me. I snarled at him and threw a punch that caught him in the jaw. Suddenly, I was being wrenched backwards.

'Elijah.' I groaned as he pulled me backwards.

'No fighting.' he said firmly. 'Not today?'

'_Why_?' Klaus whined.

'I think you'll find that we _enjoy_ fighting. It's in our _nature_.' I informed him, breaking free of his hold. But I didn't go back to my attack, and neither did Klaus. It was all healing over, though I was still a little pissed about his earlier comments.

But whatever. It would heal over fully soon- these things always did.

Because if they didn't, how else would we have been able to stand sticking together for this long?

****Elena Petrova****

Four o'clock in the afternoon came by quicker than any of us had expected. I came back from my feeding trip just in time for the three of us to leave, and we headed off at an annoyingly human pace to the Bennett household.

'I bet every penny we own that none of them will be happy to see us.' I said as we walked.

'I'm not going to bet against that.' Elijah chuckled.

'Maybe we'll be surprised.' Klaus said evenly, before bursting into laughter. Me and Elijah quickly joined in.

We continued talking and making snide comments about people (What? We're naturally unkind people. It can't be helped.) until we reached the Bennett house. When we did, I knocked loudly and clearly. The sudden lack of conversation upstairs signalled that they had all heard it- it made me smirk when I realized that the occupants of Bonnie's room were Bonnie herself, Caroline, Stefan and Damon. Interesting. So the little witch had informed the Salvatore brothers of mine and Elijah's little visit.

The door opened, and once again we were greeted by Mrs Bennett.

'Hello again.' she smiled, but it wavered when she noticed Klaus and Elijah standing either side of me. 'Need more help with the homework?'

I smiled widely. 'I'm afraid so, Mrs Bennett.'

'How many times do I have to tell you, honey? Just call me Grace.'

'Right.' I smiled again.

'I take it you want Bonnie? I think she has some friends over.'

'Yeah, she told me earlier to come back when they were over. And my friend Klaus here,' I gestured to Klaus, 'called while we were out. Turns out he needs some help with the assignment, too.'

'Small world.' Klaus added from behind me with a grin.

Grace smiled. 'Well, I'll go tell them you're here.'

'No.' a tight voice said from the stairwell. 'It's fine, mom. I already know.'

I grinned. 'Hey, Bonnie.'

She didn't reply. But then, when Grace turned to her with a confuse frown, she forced a smile onto her face and said simply, 'Hey... 'Lena.'

'Have fun.' Grace cooed, returning to her spot on the sofa in the living room.

'Invite us in.' I said to Bonnie, then, seeing the defiant look on her face, sighed and added, '_Please_.'

'Do I have your word that I can trust you?' Bonnie asked, looking slightly nervous. I didn't really blame her- we had given her no reason to trust us in the past, and after all, she was about to let three of her supposed worst enemies into her home. It was an invitation that she couldn't provoke, too. A big decision, I should think.

'You have my word.' I said.

'You have mine.' Elijah added.

There was a silence. The three of us stared at Klaus, who was stood with an idle smile on his face.

'Niklaus.' I snapped. 'Give the girl your word.'

Sighing exaggeratedly, he lazily put a hand on his chest where his heart was and said, 'Bonnie Bennett, you have my true and solemn word that you can trust both myself and my siblings.'

Bonnie hesitated, then nodded. 'Okay. You can come in.'

I stepped in, and gave her a smile. 'Thank you. It was beginning to get cramped in that doorway.'

Ignoring my comment, she turned on her heel and stomped off up the stairs, leaving me and my brothers free to follow her. We did so.

When we reached Bonnie's room, I gave a small smile. 'Stefan! Damon! Caroline! My, what a surprise. I certainly wasn't expecting an _audience_.' I turned to look pointedly at Bonnie, who merely shrugged.

'Just a precaution.' she said.

Like three baby vampires would do anything at all to stop two powerful Originals and a hybrid.

'We understand.' Elijah said, perching on a chair in his usual graceful fashion. Me and Klaus quickly followed suit.

'How will this be done?' Klaus asked seriously, all business-like.

Bonnie frowned. 'What?'

Klaus tutted, clearly unimpressed by the lack of experience in Bonnie's witchcraft skills. 'What are you going to be doing?'

Oh.' Bonnie shifted uncomfortably on her knees. 'We'll need a drop of blood from one of you-'

'Which one?' Elijah asked sharply.

'Not Klaus.' Bonnie said. 'Because he and the other Originals don't exactly share the same gene structure, or the same blood. Werewolf father and all that.'

'Right.' I nodded. 'Go on?'

'Anyway. Yeah. I'll need a drop of your blood, and from there, I'll do a tracking spell. It'll be pretty difficult, but I'm sure I can manage.'

'Take all the time you need. Are you ready?'

'As I'll ever be.' the young witch said dubiously. 'I need your blood..'

'I volunteer.' I grinned, holding out my hand. 'But be careful you don't hurt me. I'm so fragile...'

Bonnie ignored me and picked up a small knife. I raised my eyebrow when I saw it. 'Now, where did an innocent thing like you get a nasty toy like that?' I questioned curiously.

'I got it for her, actually.' Stefan said.

I shrugged. 'Go ahead.'

Wasting no more time, she took the knife and used it to draw a line of blood across my palm. I didn't even flinch.

'Now let it drop onto the mat.' Bonnie ordered.

I did so. I watched as the glistening red droplets dripped onto the pristine white mat underneath it. Even when the blood was my own, it always fascinated me.

'That's enough.' Bonnie's sharp voice broke through my reverie and I quickly withdrew my hand. Bonne started chanting in a language I recognised in Latin. I glanced back at my two brothers, who happened to glance back at me in the same moment.

'It's done.' Bonnie finally said after a few minutes.

'Already?' I raised an eyebrow.

'Did it work?' Klaus asked eagerly.

'I...' Bonnie frowned, closing her eyes. 'It worked. I...'

The drops of blood on the mat suddenly started moving. They separated from each other and dragged themselves across the mat. One went to the top of the mat, four went to the left hand side, one went to the right, and none made it to the bottom.

I frowned. 'What does that mean?'

'Each drop of blood signifies an Original vampire.' Bonnie breathed, looking at the mat with wide eyes.

'So that means...' Caroline trailed off worriedly.

Bonnie nodded.

I sighed. 'The four on the left would most likely signify America- three of those would be me, Klaus and Elijah, no?'

Bonnie shrugged. 'This is all I can tell you right now.'

Klaus frowned at her. 'You mean it doesn't name them? Just shows you where they are?'

'What were you expecting?' Bonnie got to her feet. 'Go. Now. I've told you all I can.'

'No goodbye?' I pouted. 'How disappointing.'

'You got what you came for.' Damon muttered. 'Thanks for letting us know, by the way.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'Oh? I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that I'd actually let you know.'

'It's called sarcasm.'

'It's called a _higher level_ of sarcasm.'

He rolled his eyes. 'Just leave.'

'We wouldn't want to stay any longer anyway.' Klaus muttered, getting to his feet.

'It's been a pleasure.' I grinned, before grabbing both of my brother's arms and whizzing with them out to the street.

**A/N: I know, I know- it's not my best. But it's past midnight. I'm freaking tired.  
>But, alas, I shall update! Since I forgot earlier today... -.- Hope you liked the chapter, as <span>meh<span> as it is!  
>Thank you for all the lovely reviews and everything and nananananana, and feel free to leave more! ;D<br>See you all next week and such. O:)  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	22. Smile

**Chapter 22. **

**Elena's POV. **

'That told us nothing.' Klaus spat. 'It was hardly worth it.'

'At least we know where a few of them are.' I pointed out.

'You have to admit, Elena, it wasn't actually very helpful.' Elijah sighed.

'And we don't know where they are. We know that a few of them are scattered in those places- do we know _who _is scattered in those places? No!' Klaus seethed.

'All right, calm down.' I raised an eyebrow. 'Keep your panties on.'

'I'm not wearing panties.' he hissed.

I gave a mock-gasp. 'Dear brother! You've gone commando?'

He rolled his eyes. 'I'm going to decide not to dignify that comment with a response.'

'Oh, where's your sense of humour, Niklaus?' I teased.

'It seems to have been eternally replaced by a deep anger.' Elijah commented, a studious look on his face.

I laughed as we went back into our hotel.

'Should we... I don't know, go and look for them?' I asked with a frown.

Klaus shrugged. 'Not until we know more.'

'I don't see how we can learn any more until we actually go and find them.' I said impatiently. 'We need to _do _something.'

Elijah sighed. 'You always have been a think-before-you-act kind of person, haven't you?'

I held my head high. 'And proud.'

'It could be dangerous, Elena.' Klaus said quietly. 'I'd rather not put any of us in that danger.'

'Aha!' I exclaimed. 'So you're a coward!'

He looked at me and growled. 'I am no such thing.'

'Admit it.' I sneered. 'You're afraid that if we go and look for our family, they'll still be angry at you and might try to take action and hurt you.'

'I'm not afraid for myself,' Klaus replied furiously. 'I'm afraid for you.'

'I'm a big girl, and Elijah is a big boy. We can take care of ourselves, I'm sure.' I pointed out, rolling my eyes. 'And besides, you're a hybrid. Invincible and all that. It'd hardly be dangerous with you on our side.'

'In case you haven't noticed, _sorella, _the curse hasn't been lifted yet. I'm still damned to know my potential yet never live up to it.'

I considered this, then realized something. 'Right now, right at this moment, there's a Petrova doppelgänger walking the earth.'

'How do you know?' Elijah asked curiously.

'I...' I hesitated. 'Well, it's not actually definite. But there definitely _could_ be a Petrova doppelgänger walking the earth right now. It's been five hundred years since Katerina had her child- if her bloodline continued to reproduce, then surely enough a doppelgänger exists now, or will in a few years.' I shrugged. 'It's only logical.'

Klaus paused, a thoughtful look on his face. 'I suppose you're right, sorella.' he said finally. 'But it doesn't make me any more agreeable.'

'Sleep on it.' I insisted. 'You'll know the right thing to do by the time morning comes.'

'How do you know?' he asked tiredly.

I gave him a big, hopeful smile, one that I can only ever remember using when I was a human child. 'I just know it.'

**Klaus' POV. **

The hopeful smile on my sister's face nearly broke my heart. It reminded me, sure enough, of our human days.

****Flashback****

_A nine year old Elena Petrova was playing with her eight year old brothers, Niklaus and Elijah, in the forest near their village. _

_'Are you sure we won't get into trouble for this?' Elijah asked worriedly. 'You know how father hates it when we leave the village.' _

_Elena giggled. 'Of course we will. But it doesn't matter- as far as father knows, I dragged you out here despite your reluctance and forced you to play with me.' _

_'Elena-' _

_'Not another word, Niklaus.' Elena said happily as she tossed the stone to him. 'Let us just have fun.' _

_And so they did. They threw the rock around to each other and enjoyed the moments before they were all gone. _

_'It's getting dark.' Niklaus noted as he saw the sun begin to set. 'We must go now.' _

_'You're right.' Elena said, her mood suddenly solemn. 'Father will either be worried or furious. Or both. Quickly, now. Stay with me.' _

_'You're not _that_ much older than us. We know just as much as you, if not more.' Elijah pointed out, slightly sulkily. _

_Elena chuckled. 'One year does make all the difference. You just don't know it yet.' _

_The three children continued on their path back to their village until they were greeted by their frantic mother. 'There you are!' she exclaimed upon seeing them. 'You foolish children of mine, I was anxious!' she fretted, rushing to them. _

_'We were only playing, mother.' Elena said with a small frown. 'In the forest.' _

_There was a pause as the smile faded from their mother's face. 'You were... in the forest? We have told you, Elena, never to go in there-' _

_'I know.' Elena said, dropping her head and staring down at her bare feet. 'I'm sorry, mother.' _

_'You should know better. And you two should, too, being the men of the family.' _

_'It wasn't there fault, mother!' Elena insisted quickly, looking up. 'I forced them to-' _

_'Oh, Elena, hush. You couldn't force anything of these two.' she looked disapprovingly at them all. 'Your father will be most disappointed with you all.' _

_'Oh, please don't tell father!' Elijah pleaded. _

_'Tell me what?' an angry voice boomed out from behind their mother. _

_Their father. _

_They each shrunk back in fear as their father towered over them. 'You need not tell me anything. I heard it all. How dare you go into the forest?' _

_'We were only playing.' Elena said in a small voice. _

_'That does not make it any less dangerous!' Michael Petrova shouted. 'You are _forbidden _to enter that forest. Do you understand me?' _

_'Leave them, Michael.' their mother said quietly. 'They understand. They will not do it again.' _

_Michael looked between the three of them in anger before shaking his head and storming away. _

_The three children instantly let out relieved breaths. _

_'Why is father so angry?' Niklaus asked, glaring after his father. _

_'He is just worried about you.' their mother said tiredly. 'Go inside. Nico has caught some fresh game for supper- your favourite, Elena.' _

_Elena's face lit up. 'Rabbit?' _

_Their mother nodded, and Elena took her brothers' hands before rushing off inside. _

_'We mustn't do that ever again, Elena.' Elijah whispered to her. 'Father was so angry.' _

_'Oh, we cannot just do everything as father tells us to.' Niklaus said. _

_'Niklaus is right. Soon we will grow up and have to make our own decisions, so we may as well start it now.' Elena said matter-of-factly. 'We had fun today, didn't we?' she added. _

_'We did.' Niklaus smiled, and so did Elijah. They all looked down at their conjoined hands. _

_'We must promise to do it again sometime.' Elena decided, looking at her brothers. _

_'We will.' Niklaus said. _

_A huge, hopeful smile brightened Elena's features. 'Do you promise, Niklaus?' _

_'Yes.' Niklaus promised. _

_'And we must stick together, us three forever and always?' Elena pressed. _

_'Forever and always, sister.' _

****End Flashback****

**General POV. **

Klaus considered Elena's points. Okay, so yes, assuming that the Petrova line had continued to reproduce all those years, there _must _be a doppelgänger on the earth. But how would they find her?

If there was one thing Klaus wanted more than anything, it was to break the curse. Preferably with Elijah and Elena by his side- forever and always.

He just needed to figure out a way to do it. With his brother and sister's help, it should be easy enough- after all, they three had been the greatest minds in their family, if you excluded their father. They should be able to think of something.

And then there was Elena's idea of going to find their somehow-still-alive siblings, who were scattered across the world. The idea that Elijah supported fully.

The idea that, if followed through with, would most likely get the three of them killed.

Suppose they _did_ go out and search, and managed to find some of their siblings, maybe even all of them- what then? It was more than likely that they were all still angry that Klaus had killed them.

Or tried to, anyway. They still had to address the matter of how, exactly, they weren't dead any more.

Klaus' thoughts were interrupted by the sound of banging from the door of the bathroom attached to his hotel room.

Oh. Katerina. He had somehow managed to forget all about the bratty Petrova vampire- the _other_ bratty Petrova vampire. Letting out a world-weary sigh, he went to the bathroom and opened the door. Katerina fell forwards and didn't bother to catch herself. Her head hit the carpeted floor with a light thump that was all too loud for Klaus' sensitive ears.

'Will you shut up?' Klaus demanded, crouching down beside her.

'H-hungry...' she croaked, looking up at him.

Klaus curled his lip in disgust at her appearance. Her hair was greasy and falling in limp, dull curls past her shoulders. Her skin looked hollow and pasty. Her cheeks were sunken, her lips cracked and chapped. Her eyes looked blank, and huge dark circles rimmed them.

Ah. Right. She needed blood- she must have gone for days now without the essential substance that kept her life force going. Probably she hasn't even had any blood since she came to Mystic Falls- maybe she was planning to drink at some point _after_ her visit to the Salvatore's. She'd clearly had no intention of being locked up with three plotting Originals that day.

Klaus sighed again. If he wanted her alive long enough for her to be any use to him- or any entertainment for him- then he'd need to give her some blood. He somehow thought she'd be no fun when she was mummifying.

He rushed downstairs to the lobby, where it was like a vampire vending machine. He had plenty of humans to choose from down here.

He picked one- a handsome lad who must have been no more than eighteen- and pulled him up back to his room, to the waiting Katerina. She looked up hungrily when she smelled the fresh blood of the teenage boy I'd brought back.

'Well, hello.' she purred. It possibly didn't sound as seductive as she'd wanted- her voice had a deathly sound to it, a constant croak. 'Have you come to keep me alive?'

The boy's eyes were wide and his mouth open in a silent scream, but Klaus had compelled him to be silent, so no sound escaped him.

Wordlessly, Klaus threw the boy to Katerina and she bit deeply into his neck. She began to greedily suck from his neck until there was no more blood left to drain, and then she surfaced like she was expecting more. Already, she was looking more healthy- in fact, she nearly looked pretty again.

'Why did you do that?' she asked Klaus. The croak was still in her voice, but it was less obvious now.

Klaus stared at her, his eyes icy cold. 'It wouldn't be much fun torturing you if you couldn't feel half the things I was doing, would it?'

Fear flashed in her eyes as Klaus crouched before her and stared into her eyes, compelling her. 'Now go back into the bathroom and stay there until I bring you out. And wash your hair. And your face. In fact, just take a shower- you smell awful.'

She crawled obediently back into the bathroom and, five seconds later, Klaus heard the sound of the shower switching on.

**General POV. **

The man looked down at the dead body of the Original. A female, with long blonde hair and eyes that, when open, would be brown. Wasting no time, he gripped the white-oak-ash dagger that was impaled in her heart and pulled it out, right out- the same way as he had done with the rest.

He tossed it away and heard it skidding across the floor and banging against a wall.

There. Another one done. She'd wake up soon enough, and then he'd have another soldier fighting for his cause.

Well, unless she got sidetracked by the glorious memories of her childhood with _them_- with _her_. Like that other one- what was his name? Nico, was it? Something ridiculous like that.

The man sat back on the floor by the coffin and waited. And waited, and waited, until he heard the sounds of movement coming from the coffin.

In the blink of an eye, the vampire shot up in a jerky movement. She let out a moan and then jumped out of the coffin, a snarl on her face as she stared at him.

'Who the hell are you?' she demanded.

The man stood, calm as ever. 'You don't need to know that yet. You only need to know that I'm on your side. Do you remember your family?'

'Of course.' she replied, still as cautious as ever, but the snarl was gone from her voice.

'And you remember your siblings- all of them?'

And there it was. The man's clue that this one wasn't going to be anywhere except strictly on his side. The grimace that flashed across her face was brief, just as brief as the flash of recognition in her brown eyes, but it was definitely there.

'Of course.' she said again.

'Do you remember three in particular- Klaus, Elijah... and Elena?'

The grimace returned, except this time it stayed there. 'Of course I remember them. There was Niklaus, the freak who killed us all and doesn't deserve to hold the Petrova name. Elijah, the traitor who stayed with him. And Elena- oh, Elena. The one who was oh so clearly _better _than me. Prettier than me. Smarter than me. Stronger than me, faster than me, a better fighter than me. Mother and father liked her more than me. Of _course _I remember those traitors.'

'Excellent.' the man smiled. 'Then I'm sure you won't mind helping me with something.'

'With what?' she asked curiously.

'Killing them.'

**A/N: Can you say 'cliffhanger'?  
>I'm sorry about that. x) I felt that it had to be done.<br>I am SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO sorry that I haven't updated for so long! One week my computer was broke, the other I was seriously busy, and, yeah. Here I am. Sorry again!  
>I hope you liked this chapter. Please review, and thank you if you already have!<br>Who do you think 'the man' is? O.O Have fun guessing with that one! ;) -Troll face-  
>And yes, he's building an army of Original Petrova's and is planning to kill our beloved threesome (shut up. I couldn't think of a better word.)! Le gasp!<br>See you next Sunday- or sooner! It is the season to be jolly, after all!  
>Merry Christmas!<br>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	23. Pessimist

**Chapter 23. **

**Elena's POV. **

'Have you changed your mind?' I asked Klaus upon seeing him enter my room.

'Maybe.' he answered gruffly, running a hand through his blonde hair. 'Say we _do_ go looking, and they don't want to kill us... what then?'

I shrugged. 'Spur of the moment planning is always nice.'

'Until it gets you killed.'

'Oh, will you stop with the killing stuff?' I moaned. 'It's a constant downer.'

'Tired of facing reality?' my brother teased.

I rolled my eyes. 'Reality is overrated. I'm going to go and get some breakfast- are you coming?'

'That depends.' he threw me a crooked grin. 'Would that be a human breakfast, or a vampire breakfast?'

'Vampire.' I smiled serenely. 'Of course. Elijah's coming, too. He's getting dressed now.'

Klaus nodded. 'Right.'

'And I should probably get dressed, too.' I muttered, seeing that I was still wearing the same outfit that I'd been wearing the night before.

I went back to my room and threw the wardrobe doors open, peering inside for an acceptable outfit. Hmm.

I finally decided on a pair of denim shorts and a midnight blue tank top, matches with midnight blue heels. As a human- or under the pretence of being human- I'd secretly found walking in heels difficult. It had taken practice to be able to walk around in them without wobbling. But now, with my perfect vampire grace that had come naturally to me for the past thousand years, I was fine with it. I walked back out to Klaus without so much as a stumble.

He frowned when he saw me. 'We're going out to drink blood, Elena, not take you to join a brothel.'

I scowled at him. 'Since when did you care what I wore?'

'I don't. I just think you're overdressed.'

'I think you're overreacting.'

'What?' he asked innocently. 'It's not like I told you to take it off or anything.'

I sniggered. 'Because that would be semi-incestuous, brother.'

He chuckled, then tilted his head to the side. 'What is taking our dear brother Elijah so long?'

I shrugged. 'Who knows?'

'I'm right here.' an amused voice said from behind us, and we turned to see a smirking Elijah stood there.

I frowned at him. 'What took you so long?'

He shrugged. 'My hair doesn't look this perfect naturally, you know.' he teased.

Me and Klaus exchanged a look before bursting into laughter.

'You... moron!' I gasped between peals of laughter. Elijah joined in, and the three of us walked down to the lobby, laughing.

'You know, if you'd rather just stay inside today, we could always pick someone from here.' Klaus murmured from beside me.

I raised an eyebrow. 'That would be a tiny bit conspicuous, Klaus. I much prefer to just drink the humans that nobody cares about.'

His lips twisted in disapproval. 'Since when have you been so picky?'

I hesitated, and then shrugged. 'It's better to _not_ waste a good human life.'

'It doesn't make a difference.' Klaus grumbled. 'They're all going to die soon enough anyway.'

Elijah frowned at him. 'That's a rather morbid way of thinking.'

'Morbid, or realistic?'

'It's okay,' I said to Elijah. 'I think he's just in a depressing mood today. He's worried about death, I think.'

'Shut up, you two.' Klaus scowled and quickened his pace. Me and Elijah matched it easily.

'There's no fast enough pace that can take you away from us, little brother.' I said mockingly, smirking.

'I wish there was.' he muttered, glancing wryly back at me.

I rolled my eyes. 'Ah, brotherly love. Whatever would I do without it?'

Elijah chuckled.

We ended up going to an alley round the back of the grill, where I had sniffed out the scent of human blood mixed with alcohol and filth. Sure enough, an unshaven man was lay passed out among bags of garbage on the cold ground.

'He's mine.' I said as soon as we saw him, beating my brothers to the punch. 'I sniffed him out, therefore, he's mine to kill. Go find your own unconscious drunk man.'

'His blood is probably tainted anyway.' Klaus sneered playfully, before running off at full speed to go and find his own vessel to drink from. Elijah followed him, and I rushed to my human. I wasted no time in biting into his neck and drinking out the bitter blood that came from him. Klaus had been right- this man's blood _was_ tainted, tainted by alcohol and drugs.

I drank until there was no blood left to drink, and the man fell to the ground. Dead.

No one would miss him, anyway. Of that, I was positive.

I wiped all traces of blood from around my mouth and smacked my lips together, frowning. Okay, so that wasn't the best meal I'd ever had, but it was better than being hungry for the rest of the day.

Smoothing out my clothes, I started to slowly walk round to the front of the grill, appreciating the feel of the warmth on my face. I may be a vampire, but that didn't mean I hated the sun. No, quite the opposite- it was quite a pleasant feeling, actually, to feel the sun on one's face.

I leaned against the wall of the grill and waited for Klaus and Elijah to return with full bellies. They did, a few minutes later. I rolled my eyes when I saw the spot of blood on Elijah's cheek.

'Things get messy, did they?' I commented idly as I reached out a hand to wipe the blood away. A human would have to really be looking at his face to notice it, but it was better to get rid of it than have the risk there.

Elijah shrugged. 'She wouldn't go down without a fight.'

'You could have compelled her, you know.' I pointed out dryly.

A smile slowly spread on his face. 'Where's the fun in that?'

I grinned, and then looked at Klaus. He was scowling. 'What's wrong with you now?' I asked, mildly exasperated with his bad mood today.

He looked away and said nothing. I looked at Elijah expectantly, raising my eyebrow and waiting for an answer. My youngest brother sighed and rolled his eyes. 'He's upset because his meal is still walking around somewhere as we speak.'

I frowned. 'Um, why?'

'Someone walked in on us.' he grumbled.

'Compulsion. The two of you seem to be forgetting this useful trait of ours today...' I said slowly.

He just scowled and said nothing. I chuckled. 'Well, I think I'll pay a visit to my lovely Salvatore brothers today.' I announced.

Klaus raised an eyebrow at me. 'Again?'

I faltered. 'Well... I just want to drop by.'

He examined me with his sharp blue eyes for a moment before his lip curled. 'Please don't tell me you actually care about those fools.'

I glared. 'I don't, brother.'

'Then why do you insist on checking up on them almost every day?'

'I'm not checking up on them.' I hissed. 'In fact, I like to think that I'm tormenting them mercilessly and making things difficult for them.'

'Tell me something. If one of them was in danger right now, what would you do? Would you save them?'

I hesitated. 'No.' I said.

'You're lying.' Klaus' eyes narrowed.

'I am not.' I said hotly. 'And I do not have to explain myself to _you_, brother. If you'll excuse me, I'll be going now.'

'Send my future brother-in-law's my love.' he muttered, earning a slap over the head from me.

'I don't care about them!' I insisted loudly, before turning on my heel and marching away. To the Salvatore house. To see the Salvatore brothers.

Okay, so maybe I cared a little.

**A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY LOVELY READERS!  
>I'm going to be honest, I wasn't going to update. I'm cruel like that. But then I thought, 'Well, where on earth is my Christmas spirit?'<br>So, here's your present, with love, from me! :D  
>Sorry about the dreadful shortness and poor quality. It's not my best work, I admit, but I'm too excited about Christmas to even think right now. Woo! Presents! Turkey! Dr Who Christmas special! Crackers! Paper hats! Other things!<br>Anyway, please leave a review. I got a grand total of zero reviews for the last chapter, which was... well, depressing. There was pretty much no reaction to my update at all. That made me a little sad, and paranoid. Are you guys even still reading this? AM I LOSING READERS? D: Okay, sorry, I'm a little hyper. I'll be better on Boxing Day, I promise.  
>I hope you all have a lovely Christmas!<br>~Ho Ho Ho, AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	24. Army

**Chapter 24. **

**Elena's POV. **

Damon groaned. 'Why are you here, Elena?'

I pouted playfully. 'I got bored. What, can't I pay my favourite boy toys a visit? Anyway, where's Stefan?'

'Hunting bunnies.'

'That must be a thrilling pastime.' I murmured dryly, raising an eyebrow.

Damon gave a smile that dropped almost immediately, only to be replaced by a glare. 'I'm being serious, you know. Why do you keep coming back here?'

'And so was I.' I smiled. 'So I like talking to you. Is that so wrong?'

He didn't answer, so I sat cross-legged on the couch. I sighed and glanced around. 'Is this how you spend your days now? Sitting around the house, drinking blood and alcohol and waiting for anything exciting to happen?'

'No.' he said stubbornly, but I could tell it was a lie.

I raised an eyebrow. 'Wow. Your life has gone _seriously _downhill... how about you let me fix that for you?'

'No.' he repeated, not looking at me and instead pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

'I'll have one of those.' I said. I rolled my eyes when he didn't respond and got up to get a glass for myself, snatching the bottle out of his hands.

'Give that back!' he said, finally looking at me.

I looked into his- admittedly beautiful- blue eyes. 'You don't need it. From the stench of alcohol on your breath, you've already had at least two bottles today.'

He snorted. 'Like you care. I'm a vampire, Elena, are you forgetting? I can do whatever the hell I want.'

'Oh, but that's where you're wrong.' I wagged a finger in his face and slinked over to the couch with the bottle in my hands. I took a swig, and let out a quiet sigh at the feel of the alcohol burning down my throat. How long had it been since I'd had a good drink like this? A long time, surely.

'You know what I think you need?' I said, looking at Damon as he leaned against a wall.

'I don't care.'

'I think,' I continued loudly, 'That you need to just get away from it for a while.'

He frowned. 'I'm not going anywhere, okay? You know what, why don't you just leave?'

'But I'm comfortable.'

'You won't be comfortable when I stake you.'

'I don't know... this is a very comfy couch...'

He made an infuriated noise and closed his eyes. 'Why do you do this?'

'You know you love me.'

He stiffened and his eyes opened. He looked at me slowly. 'I do not love you.' he said coldly, his eyes furious. I stared right back at him, the tiniest of smirks on my face.

'I think that I can disprove that by the end of the day.' I purred, getting up again and moving towards him.

'And how would you do that?' he asked in a partially amused tone.

I smiled and tilted my head to the side, looking him up and down. He was just as handsome as ever- if a little rough around the edges. It seems that recent events have tipped my poor, poor Damon over the edge.

What a shame. I'd have to fix that.

'I have my ways.' I murmured. Then I straightened up from my seductive position and made my voice cleared. 'Me and my brothers- we're leaving soon. If I get my way, but then, I always get my way. Anyway... maybe you should come with us. It could loosen you up, you know?'

'I like it here just fine. You can go without me- if anything will help me, that will.' he said the words coldly, but I recognised that tone of voice- he was hiding something. Pain, if my intuition was correct, which it almost always was. He was hiding pain.

My presence pained him- huh. That was... ego-bruising.

'You shouldn't be so mean to me, Damon.' I teased.

'You're just like Katherine now, you know that?' he said, taking me momentarily by surprise. Where did that come from?

'There are still some major differences.' I said stiffly. I definitely didn't like the direction in which this conversation was turning. 'Katherine is still a self-serving, psychopathic bitch, which I do like to think that I am not.'

'Are you sure you're all that different?' he asked. 'Go, Elena. Leave town with Klaus and Elijah and do whatever the hell you want to do. The sooner you leave, the better.'

'Au contraire.' I whispered, before turning and running out the door at full vampire speed.

There. Let him decipher that.

**Damon's POV. **

I frowned as I watched her go. I had almost forgotten how much faster than me she was- I had gotten so used to her being a slow, vulnerable human...

I shook those thoughts away. Thinking of Elena Gilbert would be no use right now.

She said she was leaving town... well, good. I didn't need her- I didn't even want her here.

I sighed. Then why did I feel suddenly empty whenever she left me?

This wasn't healthy, these feelings I had for her- it wasn't right. I wasn't in love with her, I was in love with the human version of her. Two totally different things.

I rubbed my temple in an attempt to soothe the thoughts whirring around in my head. She had asked me to come with her- was she actually being serious? Did Elena Petrova really care enough to ask me to come with her, to 'fix me', or was she playing with me?

_She's probably playing with me,_ I decided. _Those Original vampires don't even have feelings- they don't care about anything except the games they play with other people's emotions. _

I took a swig of bourbon and wondered where Elena, Klaus and Elijah would be going. Out of the country? Across the world? Maybe I'd never see her again. When would she be going?

Why do I even care?

I sighed again. This woman... she was going to kill me someday.

**Unknown POV. **

I looked around at them- my personal army of Original vampires. Even now, just standing there, they looked so strong, so powerful.

'When do we get to kill them?' a brown-haired boy whose name I remembered to be Clyde asked eagerly.

Their bloodlust, of course, was already getting out of control. They wanted to kill the three Petrova siblings who had betrayed them, they wanted to kill all the humans who they ever saw. But this wasn't the time for blood and gore and action- this was the time for strategy and planning.

From what I'd heard, this was the only way you could ever hope to bring down a powerful trio like Elena, Klaus and Elijah Petrova.

'Not yet.' I hissed, glaring at the disappointed shifting among the crowd of vampires. 'Listen,' I continued. 'You know how powerful they've become, don't you? Oh, wait, you've been too busy being dead _by their hand_ to notice.'

A growl came from the crowd. 'We know how they work. They're _our _siblings. Why are you keeping us here, anyway?' the recently-acquired blonde girl asked.

'Without me, you wouldn't get anywhere. You wouldn't even be here. Doesn't that earn me a little bit of trust?' I asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at them all. 'Now. You all look... terrible. Honestly. I think you all deserve to go out and get some blood- _listen_!' I roared as they all burst into excited noise.

This was going to be more difficult than I'd anticipated, I realized.

But it would have to work. It would _have_ to... if I wanted those three dead.

**A/N: Creepy guy out to kill the three protagonists? Check. Mixed feelings from both romantic points of view? Check. Army of vengeful vampires? Check.  
>Oh yeah. I have one hell of a plot line going on here... x)<br>I'm not the biggest fan of this chapter, though. Maybe it's because I'm already semi-depressed about having to go back to school on Tuesday. :( Boo.  
>Anyway, I know how you can cheer me up! :D WITH REVIEWS!<br>Oh, and by the way... Happy New Year! :D Has everyone made their resolutions?  
>Because I haven't. What? It's not like I ever stick to them anyway...<br>Hope you all have a fantastic 2012. :) Don't forget to review, though, seriously. ;)  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<br>PS- I was actually thinking of changing my username on this. People calling me Alisa is getting... quite tiring. IT IS NOT MY REAL NAME, OKAY? Think I should change it, or would that just be too confusing? Let me know! **


	25. Tricks

**Chapter 25. **

**Elena's POV. **

'We're leaving.' I told Marcus, when I ran into him and Jenny just outside our hotel. 'I thought you should know.'

'You're... you're leaving?' a deep frown was on Marcus' handsome features. 'How come?'

I hesitated. 'We've just found out that some of our... siblings may still be alive.'

'You have brothers and sisters?' Jenny asked with a frown that matched Marcus'. 'Are they... like you?'

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. 'Do you ever think about the words that roll out of your mouth, or do you just not care about how stupid you sound?'

'Don't start on her.' Marcus said, his arm around Jenny tightening. I tried not to let myself feel hurt, yet again, that Marcus would choose Jenny over me.

I rolled my eyes. 'Whatever. I didn't come here to fight with you; I just wanted you to know. My brothers and sisters are like me, if you must know. Strong. Powerful. Fast.' I smirked. 'Unbeatable, really.'

There was a sudden push in the corner of my mind; little Jenny was trying to do a little witchy trick on my brain. My smirk broadened, and I looked at her.

Two can play at that game.

My mother had been a powerful witch once- she had taught me a few little tricks when I was younger, just enough to make life somewhat easier.

I probed at Jenny's mind and focused on one thing; _pain_. Jenny gave a sudden little yelp of pain and her hands flew to her head as she doubled over. I watched as Marcus' eyes widened in surprise and he knelt beside the red-headed witch. His head snapped towards me. 'What are you doing?' he demanded furiously.

I widened my eyes slightly, the perfect portrayal of innocence. 'Me? Why would I be doing something?' I asked.

I stopped letting the pain flow to her mind; it took just a few seconds for Jenny to calm down and straighten up. She glowered and pointed a shaking finger at me. 'You!' she spat. 'How did you do that?'

'I don't know what you're talking about.' I shook my head and smiled. 'But in future, I do advise that you watch what you do, witch.'

'Stop arguing, both of you.' Marcus said tiredly, but both me and his girlfriend ignored him.

I smiled but wider, looking at them both and curling my fingers against my palm in an impression of a wave. 'I do hope I see you both again. Maybe we could meet up for a drink one day...' I looked at Jenny with a raised eyebrow and a triumphant look. 'If you're still alive, that is.'

I walked away, back into the hotel and back up to my room. I didn't really care, to be honest, about how cruel I was to anyone right now. The rejection from Damon, though I hated to admit it, stung a little. Why was that? What feelings could I possibly harbour for that beautiful man? What feelings could I possibly harbour for _anyone_, apart from my family? I was a vampire. It wasn't in my nature to feel anything for anyone; it was a rarity to even care about family the way me and my brothers- or rather, _brother, _since Klaus clearly didn't care all that much about most of our family- did.

I shook the thoughts about Damon and heartfelt emotions away. Now wasn't the time; I still wasn't sure my brother actually _was_ planning to go with me on this trip.

Oh, yes, I was definitely going- whether Klaus and Elijah came with me or not... even though it would be quite unfavourable for me to leave them again. But curiosity always won over with me; as did the desire to see the rest of my family again, after so long.

I took a deep, calming breath and then left my room, once again, to knock on Klaus' door. He answered in less than a second, his expectant, smirking face greeting me. 'Hello, sorella.' he greeted. 'How are the Salvatore's?'

'Miserable.' I answered automatically. 'Klaus, are you coming with me to find our brothers and sisters or not?'

He blinked, and his expression turned dark. 'Can you not just give it up, Elena? For me?'

'No.' I shook my head stubbornly. 'They're my family, Niklaus- yours too, in case you've forgotten.'

'And in case _you've_ forgotten, sorella, they're probably still mad that I killed the rest of our family and then ran away with you. Something they'll be angry with _you_ for, too, and Elijah.'

I hesitated. Okay, so maybe I hadn't thought of that. 'That's... irrelevant.' I said finally, dubiously.

He cocked an eyebrow. 'Do explain how it's irrelevant. You know how an angry Petrova is, don't you, Elena? We become _murderous_. We would kill anyone or anything that had anything to _do_ with what made us angry. You know that as well as I, sorella. Keep it in mind, won't you?'

I glared at him and crossed my arms over my chest. 'You could be more supportive, you know.'

He laughed, out loud, in my face. 'More supportive? Elena, I'm _being_ supportive, by telling you not to do this! I'm trying to stop you and Elijah from getting hurt, don't you see that?' he sounded exasperated, frustrated. Downright infuriated.

'That's not _supportive_! Supportive is _supporting_ my ideas, Klaus! Not shooting them down at the moment it starts to inconvenience you!'

We were both shouting now, our tempers getting the better of us. I wanted this to stop. I wanted it to all be okay again, without all the complications and difficult feelings and arguments. I just wanted my family back... I found myself wishing that one thousand years had not passed, that we were still small children who knew only how to play and cause mischief.

I paused and decided to speak my feelings, my voice a mere whisper. 'When did it all get so complicated, Nik?' I asked.

His expression softened, 'I don't know.' he replied sincerely.

We didn't hug. Neither of us apologized. We weren't, it was safe to say, a very sentimental pair. But it was clear from the way both of us acted that we were sorry; we both regretted what we had said, but it was done and over and history and life would do what it always did...

It would go on.

**Damon's POV. **

As soon as Stefan stepped into the house, it seems, he knew something was wrong. 'Elena was here, wasn't she?' he asked me, green eyes sweeping across the room.

'Yeah.' I answered, sitting up from my slouching position on the couch, tossing my empty bourbon bottle over my shoulder. 'How'd you know? Can you smell her?'

'No.' he answered, sighing and running a hand through his sandy hair. 'I can tell from the state of you.'

I frowned at him. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

He let out a cold, empty laugh. 'Look at you! You're sitting here, wallowing in alcohol and self-pity. You... do you realize that this is how you always are, after you see her?'

'I didn't realize that because it's not true.' I retorted, getting to my feet, frowning when I saw that... well, I _was_ sitting there wallowing in alcohol and self-pity. It was such an un-Damon thing to do. Such an... _emotional _thing to do. I shook my head, as if doing that would shake away all thoughts of Elena.

'It is, and you know it.' Stefan said. I looked at him, and saw that he was scrutinizing me closely. 'What?'

He shook his head, an amused smile playing at his lips. 'You. You just hate having to admit that you care, don't you?'

'Why do you care?' I asked him shortly, glaring. 'And why are you even talking about this? Did you eat a bad bunny or something?'

He glowered. 'For the last time, Damon, stop making fun of me just because I drank from a rabbit that _one_ time.'

'Thumper.' is all I said.

He let out a low growl. 'I'll be upstairs if you...' he glanced around at the alcohol bottles around. 'need me.'

'I won't need you.' I muttered. 'Ever.'

'You keep believing that.' I heard him say, before he disappeared up the stairs.

I rolled my eyes and looked out the window. No more self-pitying. No more... gulp. No more alcohol- or, at least, no consuming as much as I currently am.

I sighed. This... this was going to take some work.

**A/N: Who likes updates? :D I like updates!  
>I wrote this while eating a Dairy Milk Hazelnut Bliss, so I'm feeling... blissful. You know how it is.<br>Hope you liked the chapter! :D Feel free to review, and thank you for already doing so... you know how it is.  
>You. Know. How. It. Is.<br>;) It's my birthday on Wednesday, just to let you know, so... feel free to wish me a happy birthday in a nice little review. Or comment on the story in a nice little review, they're the same thing to me! :)  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	26. Salvatore

**Chapter 26. **

**Elena's POV. **

I knocked at the door, more lightly than I normally would have. The smooth wood felt strangely familiar beneath my knuckles- something told me I'd spend more time here these past few days than I have in my own hotel room.

Or maybe that was an exaggeration.

'Go away.' came the impatient shout from inside.

'I'll let myself in, then.' I muttered by way of reply, pushing the closed door open with ease and sauntering inside like I owned the place. I sniffed the air; huh. Odd. It no longer smelled like stale alcohol.

'Damon?' I found the name rolling off my lips before I could stop it as I peered into the living room, a frown on my face. I couldn't help it. I had become so used to there being at least three empty bottles of bourbon either on the floor, on the couch or on the counter. But there were none.

Damon sat on floor, in front of the open fire, sipping blood from a bag. I wrinkled my nose slightly; blood from a bag may be better tasting than animal blood, but it still wasn't great. It was cold, and it left a frankly awful after-taste

'I thought I told you to go away.' Damon told me, not looking up from the spot on the floor that he was staring at.

'And you actually thought I'd listen?' I smiled slightly and placed myself on the couch, legs crossed. 'Looks like you've been attempting a clean-up. Stefan's orders?'

'I don't take orders from my baby brother.'

I rolled my eyes. 'You should. I hate to admit it, Damon, but he leads a much healthier lifestyle than you.'

'Healthy is boring.'

I paused, then shrugged. 'True.'

'Why are you here now?' Damon asked, finally looking at me. A bitter look was on his face. 'Aren't you meant to be leaving?'

I frowned. 'I _was_. Klaus won't let me go.'

'I thought you didn't take orders from your baby brother.' he mocked.

I scowled. 'I don't... normally. But I can't just leave him and Elijah and go off on my own, can I? We're a family- we three have stuck together for the past thousand years. I don't really want to change that.'

'Who would have thought that the great heartless Original could care for something as... _human_... as family ties?' Damon asked with an unkind sneer.

'Would you like me to go?'

'Yes.'

'I'll stay, then.' I said quietly. 'Damon...'

'What?' he asked, rather rudely.

'Would you come with me?'

He blinked. 'What?'

'You heard me.'

'You were being serious about that?'

'I'm always serious.' I said in a solemn tone. Then I paused, placing a considerate look on my face. 'Well, most of the time.'

'I'm not going anywhere with you.' Damon said.

I frowned, and then I saw it. That quick, blunt flash of pain that appeared in his eyes as he looked at me. It nearly made even _me_ feel sad. 'You miss her,' I said softly. We both knew who I was referring to.

'Yes,' Damon admitted. 'I do. We all do.'

'You need to realize that Elena Gilbert doesn't exist. Never has, never will- she was a figment of my own imagination, a prank, if you like, pulled on each and every single resident of Mystic Falls.'

'And you don't feel bad about that?' Damon asked challengingly, suddenly sounding angry. 'What about Bonnie, and Caroline? Surely you realize that they remember every single false and meaningful memory that you placed in their minds. They feel like they've lost a friend, a sister. Do you not care about that?'

I kept my face straight and emotionless as I looked Damon over. He looked different than he had from my 'human' eyes- everything was magnified and in more detail. His eyelashes, so thick and pretty against those cerulean blue eyes. His raven black hair, which reflected the rainbow lights of the room. Each and every single line of his face, only making him look more attractive, rather than less.

Ah, yes, vampiric beauty was wonderful.

'No,' I answered after analysing all of this in one second. 'I don't care. I'm sorry I ever came here. I'm glad that you've got your act together, Damon- frankly, that self-pitying shadow of a great vampire that I left here the other day was a complete bore.'

'You're a bitch.'

'Us Originals generally are.' I retorted with a sigh. 'Would you like me to leave?'

'Yes.' his answer was quick and without hesitation.

'I meant, would you like me to leave Mystic Falls?'

This time, to my relief, he hesitated. Then he answered, 'Yes,' again.

'Forever?'

'Preferably.' he grimaced.

I frowned. That... that hurt. 'Then I'll go.'

'You're going to pressurize Klaus and Elijah to go with you, I presume?'

'I can't do that,' I murmured. 'Neither of them want to go, not really. Klaus is dead-set against the idea, and I know that Elijah would sooner stay safe with his brother than in danger with his sister, no matter how much he may tell me otherwise.'

'Well, you can't go on your own.' Damon's frown was even deeper than mine.

'It looks like I'll have to.' I replied, before getting to my feet. 'It looks like this is a goodbye, then.'

'You're actually going?'

'You said you wanted me to.'

'I know I did. I...' he hesitated, then he, too, got to his feet, chucking the blood bag away across the floor. 'Wait.'

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. 'Yes?'

He looked torn, like there was something he wanted to say but couldn't. Then he said, 'Stefan's upstairs. You might want to tell him that you're going- he might not admit it, but he'll miss you, too.'

'Too?' I asked lightly.

Damon scowled. 'Just go tell him.'

I observed him for a few more seconds before nodding, and rushing upstairs. 'Stefan.' I knew he was up there, in his room, flipping through a book that he'd probably already read thousands of times. I heard him flipping through the pages. 'I know you're up here.'

I approached the door to his room and pushed it open very lightly. Sure enough, there he was, perched on the end of the bed with the book in his hand. He looked up as I entered, a weary look on his face. 'What do you want now?'

I looked disapprovingly at him. 'Don't act like you weren't listening to my conversation with your brother.'

He smiled, just slightly. 'Do you really have to leave?'

'Why? Would you miss me?'

'I'd miss Elena Gilbert.'

I sighed, growing impatient. 'But, as I've said so many times before, _Elena Gilbert does not exist_. Disappointing, isn't it?'

'Why do you keep coming here?'

'Maybe I like the company.'

'You sound just like Katherine, you know.' he noted, looking not slightly displeased with this fact.

I shrugged. 'Like super-great-grandmother, like super-great-granddaughter, I suppose.'

He sighed again and put the book down, he too joining me on his feet. I tilted my head to the side and looked at him; he had never looked like this before. At least, not while I was a supposed human. His usually impeccable hair was ruffled, tousled almost to the point of being messy. Dark circles marred the once-flawless skin under his eyes. To someone who didn't know Stefan Salvatore, he would look normally. To a vampire who had known him, I liked to think, quite well, he looked a mess.

_He's not taking it well, either, _I thought to myself with pursed lips. What was it with these Salvatore brothers and their annoying emotional attachments?

'Damon misses you more than he wants to let on, you know.' Stefan said, breaking the sudden heavy silence.

'I'm aware of that.' I rolled my eyes. 'He's just too stubborn to admit it.'

'If you leave, he'll be destroyed.'

'He'll get over it.' I countered after a brief, thoughtful pause. 'I'm not important to him any more, now that I'm myself.' I added bitterly.

'I doubt that.' Stefan said dubiously. Then he raised his eyebrows, 'Anyway, how exactly do you plan on leaving without your brothers?'

I hesitated. 'I'm still working out that one.'

'You won't be able to do it.'

'You underestimate me, Salvatore.'

He rolled his eyes. 'You should go.'

'Go back to my hotel, or after my siblings?'

Those deep green eyes closed. 'I don't know.' Stefan answered. 'But right now, you should start with getting away from me and my brother.'

'Happy to oblige.' I hissed, heading over to the window. I turned back just as I was preparing to jump off the ledge. 'Tell Damon... tell him that if I go without him... I'll miss him, too.'

I didn't give him time to respond. I jumped out the window, and started to walk away from the boarding house.

**A/N: Update alert! Update alert! Finally! :)  
>It's not brilliant, I know, but at least it's a chapter, right? :D I UPDATED! I'm so sorry that it's late. If you want the full excuse, please visit my profile. Feel free to give me a virtual slap in the face.<br>Thank you for reading, reviewing, favouriting, alerting, and generally sticking with me for the past few weeks. You guys are awesome.  
>Please review, let me know what you think, and <span>continue<span> to be generally awesome while I drink Lucozade and type up another chapter for you lovely people.  
>See you next Sunday!<br>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo**


	27. Martini

**Chapter 27. **

**Elena's POV. **

'Elijah,' I hissed. 'Elijah.'

He turned around to face me with an elegantly raised eyebrow. 'Yes?'

'Where's Klaus?' I asked him, keeping my tone hushed, as if Klaus wouldn't be able to hear me anyway.

Elijah rolled his eyes. 'I don't know. Probably out feeding, or something to that extent.'

I frowned. 'Without us?'

'In case you're forgetting, he's not particularly happy with either of us right now, Elena.'

'Good point.' I sighed. 'When will he be back?'

'Whenever he's happy with the amount of people he's killed.'

'He'll be a while, then.'

'Most likely.'

I sighed again. 'All right. Fine. Then maybe you can help me.'

'What is it you need?' my brother asked.

'I need to see Katherine.' I told him honestly, no hint of hesitation in my voice.

'Why?' he frowned, cocking his head to the side.

'She knows things that _I _need to know.' I answered impatiently. 'Where is she? I checked Klaus' room, but she doesn't seem to be there. Did he let her go or something?'

'What do you mean, she's not there?' Elijah's frown deepened. 'She was this morning.'

I raised my eyebrows. 'But- wait, how do you know?'

'How do I know what, dear sister of mine?' he asked- feigning innocence. Something Elijah had always been able to do rather well.

'You went to see her, didn't you?' I demanded, suddenly outraged. Of course, I remembered that they had once been friends- it was nothing romantic, of course. They were related, however distantly. 'Well?' I pressed impatiently when Elijah didn't answer immediately.

'I had to make sure she was okay,' my brother replied quietly. 'As far as we know, she hasn't been fed since the day we brought her here,'

'And I should care about that because...?' I raised my eyebrows, unmoved. 'Give it a rest, brother. She doesn't give a damn about anyone but herself- you would do well to remember that,'

'I know that,' he hissed, but I was already walking away. Too harsh? Maybe. True? Yes.

Katherine, Katherine... where could she be? Surely Klaus hadn't let her go- no, that wasn't his style. There had to be a reason that she wasn't there. Maybe he had taken her with him, wherever he'd gone? Was _that_ Klaus' style?

I walked past the door to Marcus and Jenny's shared room, paused, then turned back and knocked on the door. My only response was a sudden quiet from within the room, and the sudden lack of movement. Taking this as a sign that they weren't going to reply, I took it upon myself to push the door open and look in with a smile. 'Well, hello,' I greeted.

'Elena,' Marcus said wearily. 'I thought you said you were leaving?'

'I am,' I confirmed, nodding and stepping inside the room. 'But first, I need to find someone. So if you see a girl who looks like she could be my twin walking around, do let me know.'

'You mean that Katherine girl you were with?' my old flame frowned. 'What, have you lost her?'

I looked at him, examined the planes of his face. He'd always been a handsome man, my Marcus. It didn't surprise me that he'd found someone new- I could hardly expect him to wait for me forever, could I? And it's not like I'd been saving myself for the odd chance that I might see him again, either...

But that didn't mean that I liked that he was with Jenny. I glanced at the young, red-haired witch, my eyes narrowing slightly. Upon seeing me, she had clearly started gripping Marcus' arms even tighter- staking her claim, I suppose. She was giving me a glare that I could easily translate to _He's mine, so back off_. I simply pursed my lips at her and turned away, looking back to Marcus.

'I'll let you know,' he said, looking from me to Jenny and then back to me.

I flashed him the most charming smile I could muster; the one that had won him over in the first place, as I recall. Back in Italy, all those years ago...

****Flashback** **

_**(Elena's POV) **_

_**Florence, Italy, 1298. **_

_The dirty, cluttered streets of Florence were practically empty as I strolled through them, my sharp eyes guiding me through the darkness. The hem of my long, green skirt trailed along the ground as I walked quickly and with purpose through the town. I was looking for my brothers, for Klaus and Elijah- and I knew exactly where they were. _

_I could not have been more angry with them. _

_I could feel the chilly wind blowing harshly at me, making my curly brown hair whip wildly around my face, but I did not feel cold. I was a vampire, after all. A demon who did not have the ability to feel the cold like normal people could. _

_In my mind, I was thinking through all of the ways that I could punish Klaus and Elijah for directly disobeying me and going to do what they did- which, namely, was going ahead to the brothel to drink the blood of many innocent women who, in my brothers' words, would not be missed. _

Honestly, must I behave as a mother to them at all times? _I thought sourly to myself, casting my eyes downwards as I walked past an old drunk, who sat alone against the door of the tavern, presumably haven been kicked out. What a foolish man, throwing his life away like that. His only company was the ale in his hand, which he was close to finishing, taking long, greedy gulps every few moments. _

_I listened to the sounds of him gulping down the weak drink for a few moments before a new, young voice was coming from the same spot. Curious as to who else would be out at such an hour as this, I glanced back once more, raising an elegant eyebrow at the young man who had pulled the drunk to his feet and gently taken the ale from his hands. He was speaking soft, kind words to him in flawless Italian, placing an arm on the old man's back and guiding him away. _

_A family member, then- a son, presumably. I saw him look up, glance around as if looking for help, and I looked away quickly, increasing my pace. I was looking for Klaus and Elijah- not going on a rescue mission for some old fool and his son. _

_There was a sudden calling of, 'Lady! Lady!' from the young man. As much as I wished to, I could not ignore such a desperate sounding voice. My brother may not have a human heart, but I did. I turned around to the pair with a questioning expression. _

_'Ci?' I asked. _

_'Lady, I would much appreciate it if you could help me bring my father home,' the young man said in Italian. _

_'I...' I hesitated. Helping this man with his father would mean that I would have less time to get to my brothers. But there was something about this man's eyes... those wide, hazel eyes, making him look innocent and handsome when matched with his shoulder-length, sandy hair. 'Or course,' I replied, reaching out and resting a small but strong hand on the shoulder of the old drunk. He jumped visibly at my touch, whirling round to peer at me through the darkness and then shouting at the top of his voice, 'Demon! Demon! Wench!' _

_The young man only looked embarrassed. 'I do apologize,' he said. 'Father sometimes has no idea what he is talking about...' _

_'I understand,' I said, helping him guide his father until we reached a small house, built with weak vine wood and with a roof of mere straw. _

_'Thank you for the help,' the young man said to me once we had set his father gently on the floor near a small fire. 'I don't believe I got your name...' _

_'Elena,' I answered honestly, offering my hand. 'Elena Petrova.' _

_He glanced down at my extended hand in mild surprise; it was rare for a woman to be so forward as to participate in a handshake, never mind offer one. Nevertheless less, the man accepted my hand, grasping it firmly and shaking it. 'Marcus Seneca,' he introduced himself. 'It is a pleasure.' _

_He removed his hand from mine and leaned over to press his lips against my knuckles. I smiled slightly at him. 'The pleasure, I do believe, is all mine,' I said, in an almost flirtatious manner. Klaus and Elijah were both now completely forgotten; let them make their own mistakes. 'Would you like to join me for a quarter of mead in the tavern?' I offered boldly. _

_I was full of surprises this evening. Marcus' eyebrows shot up. 'I should tend to my father here...' he said hesitantly. _

_I gestured to his father, who was snoring loudly on the floor. 'Your father is asleep,' I stated simply. 'Join me...' I flashed him my most charming smile. 'Please?' _

_He hesitated for only a moment more and then accepted. Soon enough, we were sat with each other in the tavern, laughing and making conversation with each other over some warm mead. _

_Later that evening, Marcus became my first genuine kiss for over four years. And later that week, he became the first man that I'd courted in over ten. _

****End Flashback** **

The smile that had made its way involuntarily onto my face as I recalled the memory quickly vanished as I realized that I had been stood there silently for a second or so longer than I should have been. 'I'll go, then,' I said, turning to leave.'

'Wait,' Marcus' voice made me stop and turn back round, eyebrows raised expectantly.

'Are you... are you really going to leave now?' he asked. He looked somewhat torn; his eyes kept flickering between me and Jenny, who was staring at her lover with an expression of utmost bewilderment.

'I plan to,' I said, nodding. 'Why?'

'I... nothing,' he said quickly. 'Forget I opened my mouth. Good luck in your search for your twin...'

I grinned at him. 'Goodbye, Marcus,' I said, and then, barely glancing at the young witch, added carelessly, 'Goodbye, Ginny.'

'I'm not even going to bother correcting her any more,' Jenny said bitterly to Marcus once I had closed the door over.

I smirked.

**Klaus' POV. **

'Come on, Katerina,' I said clearly, looking into her deep brown eyes. 'It's time to go out for a snack.'

She looked faintly surprised, but complied, nonetheless. We left; myself, still boiling with anger at my siblings, and Katherine, just looking pleased to be out in the open again.

Eleven dead bodies, fifty-five litres of blood and sixteen martinis later, there we were, both sitting against a tree in a forest. I had taken off Katherine's don't-speak compulsion when we encountered our first kill, and had yet to put it back on. Her company was surprisingly interesting; when she wasn't being stupid.

'You should be thanking me for giving you this _gift,_' I was saying boastfully, 'You should be thanking me and _worshipping _me_._'

Katherine merely nodded. 'I suppose,' she said passively.

She seemed to know beforehand that I wouldn't care about her addressing me with such casualness. I was too giddy from martinis, too high from the rush of human blood, to actually care.

'And my _sister,_' I spat. 'My _sister_ should be treating me in the right way, too- she should not be disobeying me like this!'

'She's a very, very mean person,' Katherine agreed, smirking slightly.

I scowled at her. 'Quiet, Katerina.'

She mimed zipping her lips shut. I wondered if her fear had disappeared along with her compulsion.

'And yet, she is ungrateful for my protection. She wants to go off and find our _family,_' I said, twisting my lips in a sneer. 'Doesn't she know that it is only for her protection that I stop her?'

'Why are you telling me this?' Katherine asked, looking like she wanted to roll her eyes. 'I'm not a councillor.'

'You're the only one who'll listen,' I muttered. 'Even Elijah is taking her side.'

This time, Katherine did roll her eyes. 'Because, of course, everyone _loves_ precious little Elena.'

I shot a glare at her. 'Don't speak of my sister in that way,' I snapped.

'But you-' she started, then she stopped. 'Never mind,' she muttered. 'What do you mean, Elena wants to go and find your family? I thought your family were dead.'

'So did I,' I murmured, resting my head against the bark of the tree. 'But apparently not.'

Katherine looked interested. 'Right,' she said. 'And Elena wants to find them.'

'Obviously.'

'So what are you going to do to stop her?'

I let out a bitter laugh. 'I have no idea,' I replied honestly. That was something that I'd never thought I would ever, ever admit to anyone outside of my family- especially not Katerina Petrova. But there I was, spilling my guys like a drunken fool would- of course, I wasn't _actually_ drunk. I was an Original vampire. It would take a lot more than sixteen drinks to get me drunk. 'She has always been rather uncontrollable, my sister...'

****Flashback****

_**(Klaus' POV) **_

_'How could you, Elena?' my mother demanded furiously. I stood meekly in the corner, staying quiet and occasionally exchanging looks with Elijah and Nico, who were also stood with me, watching our older sister being scolded for her actions. Our other siblings where elsewhere, doing things amongst themselves. We were sixteen now, Elena seventeen. 'How could you do such a thing to us?' _

_My mother's eyes, I noticed, were sparkling with tears. Whether these were tears of fury or of sadness, I did not know. _

_Elena stared defiantly up at our mother, although I could easily recognize the hint of fear that was in her chocolate coloured eyes. Her chin lifted defiantly into the air. 'Do what, mother?' she demanded rebelliously. 'Fall in love?' _

_'Having a child out of wedlock- oh, the shame of it!' our mother moaned, covering her face with her hands. _

_'You should have married him first, Elena,' father said slowly, a disapproving glint in his cold blue eyes. 'We have taught you better.' _

_'You have always taught me to follow my instincts!' Elena snapped, and then instantly her eyes widened and she cast her gaze to the floor. As I expected, an expression of fury built up on our father's face. Elena said in a tone that was suddenly quiet, 'I am sorry, father. I did not mean to speak out of turn.' _

_'Why must you defy us so?' our mother asked, breaking the silence that had followed our sister's apology. _

_'I do not know,' Elena said, her voice dropped to a whisper. _

_'Where is the child now?' Father asked in a hard voice. _

_'With his father,' our sister replied. _

_'It is a boy?' _

_'Yes... _he_ is,' Elena said, eyes drifting upwards and meeting our father's. _

_'Leave us,' Father ordered. 'Leave us, all of you.' _

_Elena left quickly, not waiting for anyone else. Father gave myself, Elijah and Nico each a stern glare, and then we all scurried away to leave him and Mother to their discussions. _

_'Elena!' Nico shouted, 'Elena, wait for us!' _

_But our sister was running now, running away from our stone house in the direction of another. _

_'Leave her,' I said, realizing where Elena must be going. 'It is not us that she needs right now.' _

_The next time that we saw our sister that day, it was while the three of us were spying. We saw her with a man- a dark-haired, green-eyed man with thick eyebrows. In her arms was a tiny bundle, wrapped in cloth. The baby- our sister's baby. _

_'I want a closer look,' Elijah said, creeping forwards. I held him back by his shoulder when I felt he was getting too close- the last thing we wanted was for Elena to see us. She would be furious that we had followed her- and worried, I knew, that we would get in trouble with our parents. _

_If there was one word to describe our Elena, it was defiant. She was our fierce, defiant sister who did not mind getting into trouble... but when it came to her _siblings_ getting into trouble... she did not want that to happen. _

_We watched, for a few minutes, our sister smile at the little child and then at its father. He smiled back at her, and I realized that our sister had not lied- she was in love with this man. Maybe she would now leave and marry him. _

_I felt a stab of betrayal- would Elena really leave us behind to be with this man? It made me instantly dislike him, though I knew it was unfair. _

_We returned home shortly after that, followed an hour later by Elena. She faced another reprimanding from our parents, and then went straight to bed. _

****End Flashback****

**A/N: Okay, so... pretty uneventful chapter, if I do say so myself. What can I say? I got kind of distracted. I'd like to note now that I have my KS3 SAT exams in three weeks, so until they're over, updates may be a little slow. I really, really have to study.  
>But, I hope you liked this chapter! Took me a while to write it. Oh, and don't worry- we'll get the rest of the story about Elena's baby and her relationship with her daddy soon enough. I wanted to put in some flashbacks, so... yeah. x)<br>See you guys next update! Please review!  
>~AlisaPhenom. XoXo<strong>


	28. Team

**Chapter 28. **

**Elena's POV. **

I had taken exactly thirty seven steps away from the hotel before I heard him calling my name.

'Elena! Elena, wait! Hold on a second!'

I gave a brief roll of my eyes before whirling around to face Marcus, placing my most impatient expression upon my face. 'Yes?' I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He hesitated, then took a glance behind him before saying, 'I want to help you.'

I felt my expression falter, and I stared at my old flame in disbelief. 'Excuse me?'

'You heard me.' His voice grew bolder. 'I want to come with you, to help you find your family.'

I stared for a second or two longer, then gave an unladylike snort. 'Please.'

'I'm serious,' he insisted. He glanced behind him once again; no doubt, he was checking to see if his precious Jenny had followed him out. Ah. Trouble in paradise, then? Because surely, if things were all right, Marcus would have told his witchy little girlfriend what he was planning to do... 'I want to go with you.'

'Let's take a second to stop being an idiot and actually think,' I said. 'Really _think_. Are you done thinking? No? Yes? Good. Now, do you still think coming with me to find my family is a good idea?'

He blinked at me, then frowned. 'Why don't you want my help?'

'I don't _need_ help,' I said, my face darkening. 'Not from you, not from anyone. I can do this on my own, all right?'

'No, you can't.' Marcus stuck his chin in the air defiantly. 'I know you, Elena. I'm not as old as you, but I'm old enough- I _know _you, and I know when you need help.'

'If I did need help, you are the last person I'd turn to,' I informed him shortly, before turning away and resuming in my walk. Half a second later, Marcus was walking beside me.

'It's better if there's two of us,' he insisted. 'We can help each other out if we need it.'

'You will only be a burden to me,' I told him. That was a truth; I mean, it's not like he was a _baby_ vampire, like the Salvatore brothers, but he wasn't exactly at the level of an Original like myself. 'Besides, what about your little girlfriend back there?' I nodded my head in the direction of the hotel. 'Does _she _know about this little quest?'

He hesitated. 'No.'

I nodded. 'And why not? Afraid she'll get the wrong impression about you running off with your ex-girlfriend and not telling anyone?'

'No,' he said again, but I could see straight through his lie.

I rolled my eyes. 'Just go back to her, Marcus,' I said. 'Carry on living your perfect little vampire life with your witch. Let me do my thing while you do yours.'

'I _want _to come with you. Can't you see that? My life-' he hesitated once again, then continued, '-my life hasn't been the same without you. You gave me purpose; everything I did with you was interesting, and it made me feel alive.'

'Back then, you _were _alive.'

'I was alive, but I wasn't living. Not until I met you.'

I stopped walking and stared at him. 'That,' I said after a while, 'was the single stupidest thing I've ever heard. Go back to the hotel, Marcus.'

He looked defeated, but apparently wasn't ready to back down, as he only carried on walking with me. I could, of course, use my extreme physical strength to _throw _him back to the hotel, but I was afraid that if I did that, I'd probably decapitate him in the process. Or at least break some bones. And I didn't want to hurt someone who'd once meant to much to me, even if he did seem like a complete stranger now.

After about five minutes, I'd stopped walking to try and get him away from me for probably the tenth time- the _final _time. I looked at Marcus and heaved a heavy sigh. 'Fine,' I said, finally defeated. 'Fine, fine, fine. You can come with me. But I am not going to be held responsible for _anything _that happens. If you get killed, you have only yourself to blame, and if your little witch comes after me for revenge, I will not hesitate in killing her. Do I make myself clear?'

A slow smile spread across Marcus' face. 'Crystal,' he said, looking eager.

We continued walking. 'Oh, and Marcus?'

'Yeah?'

I smiled sweetly at him. 'If you get in my way even once, I will rip you apart and set the pieces on fire.'

His face fell slightly, and a slightly nervous look replaced his formerly eager one. 'Right,' he said, nodding quickly. 'Got it.'

**Damon's POV. **

The bottle of bourbon was empty. Briefly, I wondered how long it had been that way, but then I realised I didn't care. The only thing I cared about, at this very moment in time, was the fact that someone had been drinking my private stash of alcohol. Because it wasn't just the bourbon bottle that was empty; every single bottle, all of them thrown messily together in the cupboard, was empty, drained of every drop of alcohol that it had once held.

I frowned. That made me sad. I tossed the bourbon bottle over my shoulder and moved on to search for more drinks.

'Don't bother,' a voice said from behind me. 'I poured all of it down the sink.'

I rolled my eyes, annoyed. I turned around to face my brother slowly. 'And why,' I asked, 'would you want to waste some perfectly good drink like that?'

He stared at me with disapproval. I almost expected him to cluck his tongue and start wagging his finger at me. 'You should go with her,' he said after a short while, looking like the words were painful to him.

I raised my eyebrows. 'Go with who?' I asked. Playing oblivious was always the best option to take when faced with something you didn't want to be faced with.

'You know who,' he said with a sigh. 'Elena. You should go with her- you know you want to.'

'Nah,' I said. 'I'm fine here.'

'I want to go with her, too,' Stefan admitted, ignoring my comment. 'A part of me still thinks of her as Elena Gilbert, the innocent human I fell in love with.'

I nodded, looking away. _Me too_, a particularly stupid voice in my head said. 'Yeah, well, she's not,' I said instead. 'She's Elena Petrova, the evil vampire whore who only cares about herself.'

'You don't really think that.'

'Don't I?'

Stefan looked at me. 'If you decide to go with her, I will, too.'

I snorted. 'You say that like it'll actually tempt me.'

'I don't think you need tempting,' Stefan said quietly. 'You were already thinking about leaving with her.'

'And what makes you think that?' I asked indignantly, folding my arms over my chest.

He held up his cell phone, the screen lit up with a message; I groaned inwardly. A message from _me_. Damn. That was supposed to have remained unsent; my drunken fingers probably mistook the send button for delete. I didn't need to read the message from Stefan's screen to know what it said:

_I'm leaving- gone with Elena. Don't come after me. I probably won't be coming back. Have a nice life. _

Stefan gave me a smug look. 'How long have you had that prepared for, Damon? Were you planning to just open the draft and click send when on your travels with Elena?'

I scowled at him. 'Give it a rest; I was drunk.'

'You're always drunk lately,' he said. 'Come on, Damon. You've been a mess without her lately. If you don't go with her, you're going to slowly fall apart, and I don't want to watch that happen.'

I stayed silent, looking at the ground.

'I'll leave you to think about it,' Stefan said, before slipping away back up to his room. Before he slammed his door, though, I heard him call, 'Just know that whatever decision you make, Damon, I'm going to follow you.'

I rolled my eyes. Great. Just great.

**Elena's POV. **

It was just after we passed the Salvatore household that my phone started to buzz in my pocket. I cocked an eyebrow and fished it out, pressing it to my ear on the second ring. 'Yes?'

'Elena,' Elijah said. 'I know what you're planning.'

'I know you do,' I said, shooting an amused glance at Marcus, who was looking at me expectantly. 'I didn't exactly hide it from you.'

'No, I mean, I know that you're going through with it without me and Klaus.' My brother sounded annoyed. 'You can't.'

'Then join me.'

'It's madness,' he protested. 'You'll never find them, and it won't exactly be a happy family reunion.'

'It's _hope_, brother,' I said in a low voice. 'There is hope that our brothers and sisters are still alive, and that they will join us and we will become a family again, and I will hold onto that hope until the day it becomes impossible that my hope will be fulfilled.'

There was a short silence, and then Elijah said, 'You are mad, my dear sister.'

'I know.'

'This plan is foolish, and so is your hope.'

'I know.'

A beat. And then, 'I'm going to help you.'

I smiled, a bright and wide smile, suddenly giddy with the realisation that everything was falling into place, just like I had wanted it to. I wouldn't be alone on this journey after all; I had an eager Marcus and a reluctant Elijah joining me, and that would do just fine for me. Although there was just one person missing from the mix... 'I figured you would.'

'I'm probably going to regret this,' Elijah said.

'Maybe you can convince Niklaus to join us,' I murmured.

'I can certainly try,' my brother said. 'But first, I need to find him.'

'Well, yes, do that first,' I said, my happy grin still on my face. 'But then, then you can meet up with us.'

'We'll arrange something when we get to that stage,' Elijah agreed. He didn't sound quite as happy as I felt, but I didn't care.

'Call me,' I said, before flipping the phone shut and sliding it back into my pocket. I then turned to Marcus, still wearing the smile that hadn't been on my face for god knows how many years.

He raised an eyebrow. 'You're awfully excited,' he stated.

I rolled my eyes, smirking. 'No, this is how I usually act when I'm sad, can't you tell?'

'You didn't want to be alone after all,' he said. 'You're glad that your brother is joining us, see?'

'I'm not glad,' I insisted, placing a mock-gloomy look on my face. 'See? I'm pouting. People don't pout when they're happy.'

'You do, apparently.'

I couldn't help but let a bubble of laughter escape, and Marcus grinned with me.

Everything was going to be all right. Elijah was going to convince Klaus to join us on our crazy quest, and then we three siblings would be united and working together as we should be- having Marcus there would just be an added bonus. It was selfish of me, I know, but a part of me hoped that having him all to myself on this journey across the world in search of my remaining family would bring me closer to him, especially since there would be no Jenny getting in the way of things. I just couldn't help it; just by being this close to him, old memories of our loving relationship bubbled up to the surface of my mind, intoxicating me, making me want more of that.

I would never admit that aloud, though- that I craved a loving relationship.

'Well, then,' Marcus said, looking ahead of us. 'Where should we start?'

I followed his gaze; so this was it. Finally, we were leaving Mystic Falls, and doing something exciting. 'I don't know,' I said, sweeping my arm out. 'We have the whole world in front of us. All it takes is one quick compulsion, and we can be on whatever plane or train or cruise ship that we want to be on.'

Marcus smiled at me. 'I don't think I've ever seen you this excited about anything,' he noted.

'It is unusual,' I admitted. 'I do apologize; I don't normally lose my composure like this.' _I just can't help myself. _

'No, no, it's... it's fine. It's good.' He flashed me a grin. 'I like it. Emotions suit you.'

_Emotions suit you_. I looked at him, unsure as to whether I should be flattered or insulted by his comment.

Before I had time to decide, I heard two sets of footsteps, both too fast to be human, approaching behind us. In the middle of the day.

There were only a few vampires I knew who could walk around during the day, and the pair that was behind us certainly couldn't be my two brothers. No, it was a different set of brothers. I turned around to face them, letting my face fall into a stoic mask. I certainly wasn't going to forget my last conversation with either brother any time soon. Damon had seemed glad that I was finally leaving him in peace, and Stefan had remained his boring, angsty self. Well, they'd both been boring and angsty, to be honest, but Stefan was worse. Stefan was always worse.

'Can I help you?' I asked them, flickering between them with cold eyes.

'We're coming with you,' Damon said, sounding much more bold and sure of himself than he had last time we spoke.

I raised an eyebrow. 'Are you, now?'

'We are,' Stefan said, the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

'And what if I revoke my invitation?'

Damon rolled his eyes. Back to his normal self, then. Good. 'Why would you do that?'

'Because you were both so rude to me in our last conversation.'

'That wasn't rude,' Damon snorted. 'When I'm being rude, you'll know it.'

'I think you're being rude _now_.'

'Damon, shut up,' Stefan said, before looking back to me and saying, 'We're coming with you whether you like it or not, Elena.'

I narrowed my eyes at them, then looked at Marcus, who merely shrugged, keeping those pretty hazel eyes of his fixed on the brothers. 'It's your choice,' he said. Damon returned Marcus' stare fiercely.

I hesitated, then sighed. 'I don't even care any more,' I muttered. 'Five people, I asked to come with me. Not one of them said yes. And now, now that I'm finally up to leaving on my own, everyone suddenly wants to join me.'

Damon smirked. 'Life's a bitch that way.'

'It is.'

Stefan looked at Marcus. 'He's coming, too?' he asked.

'Yeah, I am,' Marcus said flatly. 'Do you have a problem with that?'

Stefan frowned. 'No,' he said. Damon, stood beside his brother, looked like he disagreed, but he didn't say anything. Wise of him. He did not want to piss me off, and trying to control what company I kept right now would certainly piss me off to no end.

'Well, isn't this nice?' I said with a wry smile. 'We're like a little team.'

'Yeah. It's a shame your brothers couldn't come,' Damon said, a faint sneer on his face. 'Why is that, by the way? Stopped liking you?'

My smile dropped, and I glared at him. 'Actually, they're going to be joining us later on,' I said, voice cold and threatening. 'I'm sure they'll be very interested to see that you've decided to join us. Especially since this was supposed to be a family matter.'

Damon held his hands up in a mocking gesture of surrender. 'You're the one who invited us.'

'Everyone makes mistakes.'

I looked around at them; Stefan, Damon and Marcus, soon to be joined by Klaus and Elijah. It struck me that this trip would probably better if I had some female company, but then I realised that I didn't _have _any female friends to accompany me. Not any more. I thought of Bonnie Bennett and Caroline Forbes; most definitely not.

Hopefully, we would succeed in what we wanted to do in this trip, and soon enough I would have plenty of female company in my sisters.

I looked at my company again, and almost snorted; what a team we made. All of us vampires, but with such varying powers and personalities. Putting all of us together was probably a bad idea- I looked up to the sky and wondered how many people up there were getting a good laugh out of this.

'Well,' Damon said, breaking the sudden contemplative silence that had fallen upon us all. 'What's our first stop?'

I let out a deep breath. 'Our little tracking spell told us that at least one of our siblings was in America. I say we start with the closest first- much easier.'

'Sounds good to me,' Marcus said with a nod.

'I don't object,' Stefan muttered.

Damon didn't make a comment; how unlike him.

I let a smirk slide across my face. 'Well, then. If we're going to have to search the whole of America, then we'd better start right away.'

**A/N: I'm so late, I'm so late, I'm so very very laaaaaate...  
>I do apologize for that. If you'd checked my profile, of course, you would have seen the various excuses I had for not updating- now, of course, there's just the one excuse, stating that I want to start finishing my stories one at a time. But, naturally, I can't resist burdening myself with multiple stories at once, so here you go. Another chapter here.<br>Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, alerted, etc. It means so much to me, and it would mean even more if anyone who has not already done so could do it again. It's gotten so much easier lately, that it should be no problem AT ALL for you to drop a quick line in the review box. Thank you muchly!  
>Again, I'm so sorry about the tardiness of this chapter- I don't promise that updates will be vampire-fast from now on, but I do promise that there won't be year-long gaps in-between updates any more.<br>Keep on being awesome.  
>~Heather. XoXo<strong>


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